City News Roundup

Voter registration for November sets record and more Dallas city news

Colin Allred is running for Texas' 32nd Congressional district.

Courtesy photo

This week in Dallas city news, Vice President Mike Pence rallied for Texas Republicans, voters broke a record in Dallas County, and a disgraced city councilman crashed a public forum.

Here's what happened in Dallas this week:

Pence was among us
Vice President Mike Pence was in Dallas on October 8 to campaign for Texas Republicans Pete Sessions and Ted Cruz, both of whom face serious Democratic challengers in November's general election.

According to the Houston Chronicle, Pence attended rallies at the Park Cities Hilton Hotel in North Dallas.

Sessions is being challenged by Colin Allred, a Democrat who's been endorsed by former President Barack Obama. Cruz is challenged by El Paso Representative Beto O’Rourke.

Voter registration
The Dallas County Elections Office set a record Tuesday, leaving workers scrambling to keep up as an influx of Dallas voters registrations poured in.

According to WFAA, registrations flowed to the office en masse, far surpassing the number of registered voters seen both in Texas' last gubernatorial election and the 2016 presidential election.

"We're up about 100,000 more registered voters than we were for the last gubernatorial election," Dallas County Elections Administrator Toni Pippins-Poole told WFAA. "We're up 50,000 more from the presidential election in 2016."

According to Dallas County Elections’ website, there are 1,330,406 registered voters in Dallas County.

Voting for the November general election comes to a close November 6. Click here for sample ballots and voting locations.

Caraway crashes forum
Disgraced Dallas City Councilman Dwaine Caraway, who pleaded guilty in August to accepting $450,000 in bribes and kickbacks, showed up at an October 9 forum for candidates vying for his former seat on the council. He slipped in during the forum at Clara Oliver Elementary School and listened as nine of 14 candidates addressed the crowd.

Dallas priests
Amid recent claims accusing Catholic priests of sexual abuse, the Catholic Diocese of Dallas has hired former state and federal law enforcement officials to look into 220 active priests' personnel files and investigate any accusations made against the religious leaders.

Three men came forward in August and made allegations that Reverend Edmudo Paredes sexually abused them as teenagers. The Diocese said a private investigator was hired to track down the reverend who disappeared after learning of the allegations.

I-35E closures
On October 12-13, all lanes of both northbound and southbound I-35E will be closed in Oak Cliff during a construction project. The interstate will be closed near Marsalis Avenue during a destruction project that will partially remove the Marsalis Avenue bridge and a beam-setting project at Eighth Street.

The closure will begin at 9 pm on Friday, October 12, and end at 1 pm on Saturday, October 13. Both north and southbound traffic will be forced to exit at 425C and continue on the frontage road.

In addition, the Marsalis Avenue and Ewing Avenue overpasses will be closed at I-35E during the closures.

Bike to City Hall
On October 17, Adam Medrano, Scott Griggs, Omar Navarez, and Philip Kingston will participate in the annual Bike to City Hall, which kicks off at 7:30 am at Main Street Garden Park. The ride will conclude with a press event at City Hall Plaza, where the Circuit Trail Conservancy will receive a special recognition.

politics city-news-roundup

Public transportation news

DART to trim bus routes and change light-rail frequency in Dallas

Photo courtesy of DART

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Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) is implementing service changes that include discontinuing several low-performing bus routes and adjusting weekday rail and bus frequencies. The changes take effect Monday February 2.

"These changes reflect what our riders and communities told us last year: 'Minimize disruption while maintaining access'," says Jeamy Molina, DART’s EVP and Chief Communications Officer in a release. “By focusing service where it’s used most and keeping strong connections to rail, GoLink and key bus corridors, we’re helping move North Texas forward."

Directly from the release, here are the changes being made:

Weekday light-rail frequency: DART’s Red, Blue, Green and Orange lines will operate every 20 minutes during weekday peak periods (previously 15 minutes). Off-peak weekday and weekend frequency will not change.

Convention Center Station: The station closed to riders January 5, 2026, due to construction at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center. Trains will continue to pass through, but riders cannot board or exit there. Bus bays also closed Jan. 5, and stops have been relocated to nearby streets. Updates are available at DART.org/ConventionCenter.

Discontinued bus routes (7): 209 McKinney/Cole; 225 Nursery; 254 Legacy; 255 Story; 305 Addison Express; 378 Red Bird Express; 383 Lake Ray Hubbard Express. Nearby alternatives include rail, GoLink and connecting bus routes.

Bus frequency reductions: Routes 13, 15, 16, 17, 18, 20, 22, 23, 25, 27, 30, 38 and 57 move to 20-minute peak service. Routes 28, 41 and 47 move to 20-minute peak and 30-minute off-peak service and will be renumbered to 128, 141 and 147. Routes 101, 102, 103, 104, 106, 108, 109, 114, and 122 move to 20-minute peak and 30-minute off-peak service. Express Route 306 shifts to 20-minute frequency.

Schedule updates: Minor timing adjustments will be made on Routes 1, 218, 233, 235, 237, and 241 to improve connections. Route 883 UTD Comet Cruiser will operate about every 12 minutes on weekdays and 20 minutes on weekends, with no change to destinations.

Bus bay reassignments: Riders should watch for updated boarding locations at Addison Station; CBD West Transfer Center; Dallas College North Lake Campus Station; Downtown Irving/Heritage Crossing Station; Forest Lane Station; Lake Ray Hubbard Transit Center; Market Center Station; Northwest Plano Park & Ride; Parker Road Station; Red Bird Transit Center; SMU/Mockingbird Station; Southwestern Medical District/Parkland Station; and University of Dallas Station.

Riders can review new schedules and route details on DART’s service change landing page at www.DART.org/ServiceChange. Updated timetables will also be available through DART’s trip-planning tools and at select locations, and riders can contact DART Customer Service for help planning trips, finding alternate service, and confirming updated boarding locations.

"The changes were informed by a series of public hearings last summer and feedback from member cities and approved by the DART Board of Directors in September 2025," DART says. "In addition to the services scheduled to change on February 2nd, the DART Board also approved fare changes, GoLink expansion, and two potential site-specific shuttle partnerships. Those changes are set to take effect later this year."