City News Roundup

Lakewood Theater gets landmark intervention and more Dallas city news

Renovation of the Lakewood Theater was put on hold.

Lakewood Theater/Facebook

Dallas saw the resolution of three hotly debated issues in the past few weeks, thanks to some proactive residents, lobbyists, and two celebrity cameos. There was lots of news regarding one of our favorite topics: transportation.

Here are the biggest city news stories from the past week:

Lakewood Theater on hold
Residents trying to stop further development of the Lakewood Theater got a victory on September 8 when the Dallas Landmark Commission voted to start the process of making the building a historical landmark. The status of the theater is now on hold until that landmark status is designated. Co-owner Craig Kinney told NBC that he and partner Bill Willingham intend to save the landmark portions of the building.

Lakewooders created a big push, including a petition and the summoning of a genuine celebrity, actor Burton Gilliam.

DCC OK DART D2 B4
A second DART rail line being planned for the south side of downtown now has a route recommended by the Dallas City Council. Proponents say that adding a second line through downtown will improve service by increasing the capacity and flexibility of the entire system.

The original "D2" line, called B4 or the Young alignment, was designed to run along Young Street to Deep Ellum. But property owners along Young Street, including the Farmers Market and First Presbyterian Church, objected. The modified route approved by the city council juts over to Jackson and is called the Modified B4 or Jackson alignment.

The downside of the Jackson alignment is that it might affect renovations for the Statler hotel and the Continental apartment building. The route will be voted on by the DART board on September 22. Its deadline to submit applications for federal funding is September 30.

Downtowners created a big push, including polished-looking and surely not inexpensive printed banners urging Farmers Market stakeholders to "SHOW UP!" at the city council meeting.

I-345 not so bad
The much-debated I-345 highway between 45 and 75 isn't going to cost that much to repair after all. TxDOT originally budgeted that it would cost $184.5 million to fix but has determined that, never mind, it'll only cost $30.5 million. Engineers say they will only have to strengthen the bridge, not replace sections of it.

DCVB dough
The Dallas City Council voted to keep pumping money into the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center by renewing a long-term contract giving the Dallas Convention and Visitors Bureau 30 percent of the city's hotel occupancy tax until at least 2020. Council members Mark Clayton, Philip Kingston, and Scott Griggs wanted to delay the decision until after the budget is resolved on October 1. Mayor Mike Rawlings said that people are too negative about the DCVB.

DCVBers created a big push, including getting namesake Kay Bailey Hutchison to show up at a city council meeting.

Braniff again
In an odd revoting on something it already voted on, the Dallas City Council voted to approve a deal at Dallas Love Field. Two weeks ago, it voted against giving developer Randall Reed permission to redo the old Braniff building, requesting that the Aviation Department submit competitive proposals.

But council member Monica Alonzo asked for another vote. Guess that's all it takes for the council to vote twice on the same topic? Last time, she voted against Reed's project, which will include a charter jet hangar, car dealership, and office complex. This time she voted for it. Whyever?

The Observer suggests the big push has something to do with Reed's hiring former city council member and City Hall lobbyist Steve Salazar. "People hire him to get stuff done for them at City Hall," says writer Jim Schutze. "What kind of stuff? Well, his sub-specialization is getting Monica Alonzo to do stuff."

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pet protection

How to protect Texas pets against the dangerous New World screwworm fly

MPhoto by Tran Mau Tri Tam ✪ on Unsplash

Make sure these guys are up on their flea and tick meds.

Two New World screwworm cases in dogs are among more than 30 confirmed instances in Texas and New Mexico, prompting warnings Wednesday, July 8 from veterinarians and humane societies that pet owners need to remain vigilant to protect their animals.

The parasite reappeared in cattle in the U.S. in June, more than 50 years after it had been largely eradicated from the country. The pest is actually the larvae of the New World screwworm fly. It eats live flesh and fluids rather than dead material, as the larvae of most fly species do.

Here is what to know about the parasite, the threat it poses to pets and how to protect them:

Screwworm fly larvae can infest any mammal
The fly's migration north from Panama starting in 2024, and through Mexico in 2025, has agriculture officials warning that it poses a threat to the $113 billion U.S. cattle industry, but the larvae can hatch and breed in any mammal, including wildlife, dogs, cats and occasionally humans.

The problem develops when a female fly lays its eggs in open wounds and mucus. After the eggs hatch, the larvae feed for about a week before maturing, dropping to the ground and continuing to develop into an adult fly.

The American Veterinary Medical Association says newborn animals and animals with open wounds or who have undergone surgery or other medical procedures recently are especially vulnerable. Even a tick bite can host an infestation, Aaron Grady, executive director of the Houston Humane Society shelter, said during a webinar on the screwworm.

Screwworm fly close-up The goal is to stop these flies from successfully breeding. Photo courtesy of Texas A&M AgriLife

Infestation signs include restlessness and bad smell
Animal health experts say pet owners in areas where the screwworm is present — southern and southwestern Texas and southeastern New Mexico so far — should watch their animals closely and examine them for wounds, cuts and bites regularly.

Pet owners should look for any maggots or movement in a wound. Other signs include a foul smell and restlessness or anxiety in an animal, or an animal “hyper-fixating on looking or chewing in a certain area of the body," said Melissa Stansell, a veterinarian at the shelter Austin Pets Alive!

Any one of those is reason enough to go to a veterinarian. The affected animal is likely in a great deal of pain, and that can cause death from shock. The larvae also can cause death if they move into vital organs or by causing infections that turn deadly.

Flea, tick medications can stop an infestation
Humane society officials and veterinarians said shelters across Texas are trying to prevent infestations in animals by giving them prescription flea and tick medications. They recommend that pet owners do the same.

“It will kill the larvae as they ingest the blood and tissue,” Stansell said. “The chemical compositions of those products are what kill the actual larval stages of these flies.”

Veterinarians also can treat infestations and animals can recover if pet owners contact them quickly. Stansell said the treatment could include antibiotics.

“It is only fatal if left untreated,” she said.

An effort to eradicate the fly again is underway
The New World screwworm fly is a tropical species and decades ago would disappear each year when colder weather arrived with the fall or winter.

But state and U.S. Department of Agriculture officials aren't waiting for the weather to turn. They've returned to an eradication method that worked decades ago, breeding sterile male flies and releasing them into the wild. The female New World screwworm fly mates once in her monthslong life, and if her partner is sterile, her eggs won't hatch — causing the population in an area to drop and then disappear.

For years, the only factory breeding sterile flies in the Western Hemisphere was in Panama, but the USDA invested $21 million to convert a site in southern Mexico from breeding fruit flies to recently start breeding screwworm flies. The agency also plans to spend $750 million on a new fly factory in Texas, set to open next year.

screwworm fly pets