This roundup of Dallas city news includes a surprising raise for the city manager, a new group that wants to take a freeway down, a big cash outlay from DART, and a group of ministers seeking an exemption from Texas' new abortion law.

Here's what happened around Dallas this week:

New I-345 group
More Neighbors Dallas is a new group in favor of removing I-345, the controversial freeway that cuts between downtown Dallas and Deep Ellum. The group is a chapter of YIMBY Action ("Yes In My Backyard"), a San Francisco organization that advocates for abundant housing and inclusive, sustainable communities across the U.S. On August 15, they launched (re)Place 345, a campaign created by a collective of local progressive organizations and community leaders dedicated to fighting for racial equity, environmental safety, and equitable land use for I-345 and its surrounding corridor. They're asking Dallas officials to delay approval of a hybrid plan put forth by TXDOT and instead going all in on the idea of replacing the freeway with a street boulevard.

Raise for T.C.
The Dallas City Council approved a 3 percent raise for city manager T.C. Broadnax, elevating his salary to $423,000. It represents a turnabout from just a few months ago when some council members were talking about firing him. Five on the council voted against the raise: Mayor Eric Johnson and council members Paula Blackmon, Adam McGough, Cara Mendelsohn, and Gay Donnell Willis.

Ruel goes free
Real estate developer Ruel Hamilton, who was convicted of bribing Dallas City Council members in exchange for votes for his low-income housing projects, got his conviction overturned. The U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals said that the payments made to former council members Dwaine Caraway and Carolyn Davis were "gratuities," not bribes. Hamilton was convicted thanks to testimony by Caraway, which was found to be not entirely credible in the first place.

DART $anta time
Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) Board of Directors approved a one-time distribution of $214 million of unallocated Sales Tax Revenue Funds to the agency's 13 service area cities. During the pandemic, DART received federal relief operating funds which the agency used according to federal guidelines for COVID-related supplies and cleaning, operating expenses, and replacing fare revenue. That left DART with extra sales tax revenues. They'll be distributed to the cities for purposes such as special transportation services for the elderly or those with a disability, medical transportation services, or parking garages.

Ministers support choice
Four North Texas Methodist ministers sent a letter to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton through their attorneys claiming that House Bill 1280, AKA the trigger law, violates the Texas Religious Freedom Restoration Act. The ministers, who are part of the North Texas Conference of the United Methodist Church, are asking for an exemption allowing them to continue counseling and guiding individuals about abortion without civil or criminal prosecution.

Attorneys with Dallas-based Sommerman, McCaffity, Quesada & Geisler and The Law Office of Jessica Vittorio represent the ministers. Three are from Dallas, one a senior pastor of the largest African-American UMC congregations in Texas, and the other is from Plano.