City News Roundup

Get up to speed on urban farming at free class and more Dallas news

Learning to grow your own is not a bad idea right now.

Photo courtesy of Urban Roots

This roundup of city news includes two transportation tidbits, one on the high-speed train, another on a DART rail disruption. There's also info about a Juneteenth display, more banners in Deep Ellum, and a must-attend class on urban farming.

Here's what happened around Dallas this week:

High speed rail resignation
The CEO and president of Texas Central Partners, the company behind the high-speed rail project between Dallas and Houston, has resigned. Carlos Aguilar announced his departure via a Linked In post, stating he was unable to align stakeholders on a common vision for a path forward. Texas Central still plans to break ground on the 240-mile rail line, but is awaiting a ruling from the Texas Supreme Court that's been pending since January re: a landowner's claim that Texas Central has no right to take his land.

Urban farm demo
Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center at Dallas is hosting an event that will give people the opportunity to learn more about small-scale agriculture and see some urban agriculture projects in person. Examples of urban agriculture include community gardens, rooftop farms, hydroponic, aeroponic, aquaponic, and vertical production. The event is on June 21 at 6 pm, at the Texas A&M AgriLife Research & Extension Center at Dallas, Water Education Building, 17360 Coit Rd. It's free but registration is required at tx.ag/UrbanAgDallas. In addition to lecture presentations, there will be a tour of AgriLife Extension's vegetable garden and high tunnel.

Historical display
The original Juneteenth order forcing Texas to release slaves is now on display at the Hall of State in Fair Park. Called General Order No. 3, it was a proclamation from June 19, 1865, in which General Gordon Granger pronounced that all enslaved African Americans living in Texas were free. The only known original copy is part of the permanent archives of the Dallas Historical Society. During Juneteenth weekend June 18-19, the document will be available for public viewing in the Hall of Heroes at the Hall of State from 10 am-5 pm on Tuesdays-Saturdays and 1-5 pm Sundays through the end of July.

Welcome to the U.S.A.
In celebration of Immigrant Heritage Month and Flag Day, the City of Dallas hosted a naturalization ceremony in collaboration with United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) on Tuesday June 14. In the ceremony, 30 Dallas residents swore their Oath of Allegiance and became naturalized US citizens. The candidates came from 15 different countries including: Bangladesh, Burma, Dominican Republic, Eritrea, India, Japan, Liberia, Mexico, Nepal, Netherlands, Pakistan, Philippines, South Africa, Syria, and Vietnam.

DART rail disruption
Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) will operate shuttle buses instead of light rail vehicles between SMU/Mockingbird Station and Walnut Hill Station beginning Thursday June 23 through the end of service on Sunday June 26. Regularly scheduled light rail service will resume on Monday June 27. The disruption is so that DART can conduct concrete repairs on the elevated station at Park Lane Station and replace a section of rail north of SMU/Mockingbird Station. Shuttle buses will be operated by a third-party charter bus company and will not be DART branded. Passengers should look for charter buses at the red "Rail Disruption" bus stop signs located near each station to board a shuttle bus. Shuttle buses will provide service to each affected station.

These repair projects will impact Red and Orange Line passengers:

Red Line passengers will transfer to shuttle buses between SMU/Mockingbird Station and Walnut Hill Station.
Orange Line trains will only operate between DFW Airport Station and Pearl/Arts District Station. Northbound Orange Line passengers should board a Red Line or Blue Line train at Pearl/Arts District Station to SMU/Mockingbird Station, and transfer to a shuttle bus to continue to their destination.

More banners
The Deep Ellum Foundation has put up a new set of streetlight pole banners, themed "All-Comers," to spread the message that the Deep Ellum is for anyone and everyone, from artists Clint Mordecai, Favio Moreno, Hunter Moehring, Jessica Stewart, and Khafre Linwood.

farmer-diaries city-news-roundup politics

Top Texas schools

2 Dallas universities rank among top 10 in Texas for 2024 by U.S. News

SMU Facebook

undefined

Two Dallas universities have achieved high rankings for their high-quality educational experiences this year: Southern Methodist University and The University of Texas at Dallas both have earned top-10 spots on U.S. News and World Report's just-released list of the Best Colleges in Texas for 2024.

SMU claimed the No. 4 spot in Texas, and ranked No. 89 nationally. The private institution had an undergraduate enrollment of more than 7,000 students in fall 2022. The school, which costs $64,460 in tuition and fees each year, ranks No. 121 for "Best Value Schools" by U.S. News.

In April, SMU's Cox School of Business ranked No. 4 in U.S. News' ranking of the best graduate programs in Texas. SMU business graduates additionally make the third-highest earnings in the nation within the four years after their graduation.

SMU actually fared one spot better in U.S. News' list of top Texas schools than it did in another recent report, in which it ranked No. 5 statewide.

U.S. News' profile of SMU says the university finds pride in its rich campus culture that encourages students to participate in different organizations and activities.

"Students can check out the Dallas International Film Festival, which draws 40,000 viewers annually, or explore the more than 400 parks in the city," the site says. "About 2,000 students are involved in SMU Greek life, and all students can participate in annual events such as the Festival of Lights, a candlelit assembly on the school’s Main Quad each December, and the Mane Event, a celebration of spring complete with bands and food."

SMU's cross-Metroplex rival, Texas Christian University, ranked No. 6 in Texas and No. 98 nationally.

Just behind TCU, Richardson's UTD placed No. 7 in the Texas rankings, and No. 115 nationally. With a total undergraduate enrollment of over 21,600 students in fall 2022, the university values itself as a top-tier research institution.

"The Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship utilizes world-class, academic education, industry-leading experiential training, venture mentorship and advisory support to support the launch of new businesses," the UT Dallas website says.

In fact, the U.S. Department of Defense recently announced it will work alongside UT Dallas to develop a $30 million energy storage systems campus in a new initiative to improve battery technology.

"The project will accelerate transition and scaling of next generation batteries, while reducing dependence on scarce critical materials," the release said.

UTD ranked No. 14 in the recent Niche list of best Texas colleges.

U.S. News' top 10 best colleges in Texas in 2024 are:

No. 1 – Rice University, Houston
No. 2 – University of Texas at Austin
No. 3 – Texas A&M University, College Station
No. 4 – Southern Methodist University, Dallas
No. 5 – Baylor University, Waco
No. 6 – Texas Christian University, Fort Worth
No. 7 – The University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson
No. 8 – University of Houston
No. 9 – Texas Tech University, Lubbock
No. 10 – University of St. Thomas, Houston

The full rankings can be found on usnews.com.

US News & World Report reports universities rankings colleges dallas SMU Southern Methodist University ut dallas richardson