City News Roundup

Redistricting of City Council seats starts back up and more Dallas news

Current map of Dallas City Council districts.

This roundup of Dallas city news includes important information about redistricting, plus items about Deep Ellum and its holiday observations, DART and its new bus service, South Dallas and a new anti-poverty program, and a dog park coming to Old East Dallas.

Here's what happened in Dallas this week:

Redistricting meetings
The city of Dallas is hosting a series of town hall meetings to offer input on the redistricting process, which happens every 10 years after the U.S. Census releases its data. Redistricting determines City Council districts. Jesse Oliver, 2021 Redistricting Commission Chair, says in a release that they want to make a redistricting map that represents residents and their communities. The Commission will host eight meetings, including two at City Hall which will allow not only in-person attendance but also virtual. A complete schedule, plus contact info for redistricting commissioners and a tool that allows you to draw and submit your own map, is at DallasRedistricting.com, and the Redistricting hotline is 214-671-5197.

The first meeting will be Saturday December 11 at 3:30 pm, at Dallas City Hall in Council Chambers (6EN), and will be accessible virtually via Cisco webex. If you wish to speak during a Redistricting Town Hall, register at bit.ly/2021RDCTH by 10 am the day of the meeting. Speakers get three minutes. Virtual speakers are required to show their video when addressing the commission.

The new districting plan will be implemented at the next general election of Dallas City Council members, currently projected for May 6, 2023.

Deep Ellum festivities
The Deep Ellum Foundation has unveiled a new round of streetlight pole banners to celebrate holidays from Halloween to New Year’s Eve. Eight local artists created designs that reflected their take on the holidays and the neighborhood, as follows: William "Bubba" Flint, Dani Waldorf, Will Heron, Madison Gowins, Taylor Peterson, Nick Anderson, Hunter Moehring, and Janie McGuffee.

The Deep Ellum Foundation has also launched a competition called the Deck Deep Ellum Campaign, in which participating businesses decorate a bright pink Christmas tree in their own unique way. The tree that gets the most votes on social media wins a cash prize; one patron wins as well. Visitors are encouraged to selfie with their favorite and tag #DeckDeepEllum and the business. Participating businesses include Deep Ellum Brewing, Deep Ellum Art Company, Jade & Clover, Dot’s Hop House & Cocktail Courtyard, and more.

DART's new bus service
To prepare riders for the launch of the DARTzoom new bus network, Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) will begin operating all GoLink zones beginning December 6 while simultaneously maintaining existing routes.

An essential part of DART's new bus network is the expansion of GoLink, DART’s on-demand, curb-to-curb microtransit service solution that operates in zones across the DART service area. GoLink offers service with connections to DART transit facilities as well as anywhere within each specified zone. GoLink is available with a valid DART fare.

The new bus service starts on January 24, 2022, when 13 new GoLink zones will be added to replace traditional fixed-route service, bringing the total to 30. They're adding weekend hours to many GoLink zones, with 13 zones offering Saturday service and 6 zones offering Sunday service. All bus routes will run from 5 am-12 am, with a focus on riders who work non-traditional hours; 22 core/frequent bus routes will operate from 4 am-1 am.

Core Frequent Network service will provide bus frequency matching or better than light rail service – 15-minute peak and 20-minute midday. Light rail service will also return to pre-pandemic levels, providing 15-minute peak service and more frequent evening service.

Good Neighbors
24HourDallas, an organization focused on Dallas nightlife, will host a media roundtable session to unveil its new Good Neighbor Initiative, to foster better relationships between Dallas' nighttime businesses and their neighbors.

The Good Neighbor Initiative's bullet points include building collaboration between nighttime businesses and municipal departments to improve safety; educating business owners on how to avoid discrimination, both in employees and customers; and mobilizing faith leaders to quell potential conflict.

The roundtable is on December 7 from 4:30-5:30 pm at the Omni Dallas Hotel and will include Dimitrios Mastoras, co-founder of Safe Night, Phillip G. Honoré, executive director of The West End Association, and the Reverend Christopher Blake Thomas, rector, The Episcopal Church of St. Thomas the Apostle.

Trusted World
The State Fair of Texas and Comerica Bank have partnered with anti-poverty organization Trusted World to assist the South Dallas community. Trusted World is a Garland-based group that provides clothing, food, and other necessities to nonprofits and local schools. Trusted World has worked with more than 530 North Texas organizations, but this will be the first time their work will be brought to South Dallas. The program will roll out in early 2022 and is expected to begin with a yearlong commitment.

East Dallas dog park
The city's newest dog park is about to debut: Crockett Dog Park is a 1.8-acre space at 501 N. Carroll Ave. in Old East Dallas. It's been a park since 1988, but now it will include a fenced-in area for large and small dogs. They'll hold a ribbon-cutting on Saturday December 11 at 10 am.

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Animal News

Advocates find false info being fed to Texas legislators on pet store law

Puppy mill dogs do not have a great life.

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A national pet store chain has been implicated in a dishonest campaign to try and influence Texas lawmakers on an upcoming bill making its way through the legislature.

The pet store chain is Petland, and they're engaged in a battle against The Ethical Pet Sale Bill (SB 1652 / HB 3458), which would encourage pet stores to stop selling at-risk animals from puppy mills and support shelters and rescue groups instead.

The Ethical Pet Sale bill has support from rescue and animal groups across Texas, who are all grappling with a glut of animals on the streets and in overcrowded shelters. That pet overpopulation problem gets even worse when pet stores import more animals from puppy mills in states like Missouri and Ohio.

If Texas passes the bill, it will join a growing number of states and cities who've already passed similar laws including Dallas, Austin, Bryan, College Station, El Paso, Euless, Fort Worth, Houston, New Braunfels, Pasadena, San Antonio, The Colony, Sherman, and Waco.

Most reputable pet store chains such as PetSmart and PetCo do not sell cats and dogs. Petland does. The company operates 84 stores in the U.S., and fights bills like this by hiring lobbyists to discourage legislators from supporting these bills.

Phony list
In this case, a two-page summary was distributed to some Texas state senators listing reasons why they should oppose SB ("The evidence from other states, especially California, demonstrates that these types of bans do more harm than good"), plus a list of organizations that are opposed.

Most of the organizations opposed to the bill profit directly from animals, such as Petland and Puppy Dreams, a North Texas chain that also sells animals.

But the list also had surprising names including PetSmart, PetCo, and Pet Supplies Plus — the three largest pet store chains who all have a history of supporting adoption of shelter animals.

Their presence on the list caught the eye of animal advocacy groups such as Texas Humane Legislation Network and Humane World For Animals, who've worked with the big three in the past.

"We became aware of Petland Inc.’s lobbyist apparently sharing the attached document with legislators, claiming the listed pet and pet product industry leaders are opposing this legislation," said a spokesperson from Humane World of Animals (HWA). "We checked in with contacts at Petco, Petsmart, and the American Pet Products Association, and all of them deny opposing this legislation or giving Petland permission to list them on this opposition letter. It’s very possible others listed in this letter also did not give their permission to be included — we only connected with the those listed above at this stage."

CultureMap also contacted the three major pet store chains and received similar responses that they had not been consulted nor did they issue a rejection of the bill, although none wanted to be quoted.

The misrepresentation is concerning because it muddies the water with false information at a time when the bill is still under consideration:

HB 3458 — the version going through the Texas House — passed a House Committee with a 10-1 vote and has been moved up the chain towards passage.

SB 1652 — the version going through the Senate — still needs to get through the Senate Committee, Calendars, and a floor vote.

"By creating a false narrative about the position of the above industry leaders, this letter has the potential to sway lawmakers at a critical juncture in the legislation’s journey," the HWA spokesperson says.

Two Petland stores in the Dallas area — in Frisco and Tyler — have been the subject of undercover investigations. Petland Webster recently settled a lawsuit with several families that the store allegedly sold sick puppies to, and several lawsuits have been filed against Petland Woodlands in Texas, claiming the store sold sick puppies. One pet owner told the House Committee that he'd spent $20,000 on medical care of a puppy he bought at a pet store.

"Banning the retail sale of puppies and kittens is a common-sense solution to protect both animals and Texas consumers," said Dean Senator Judith Zaffirini of Laredo, who filed the bill. "My SB 1652 would help reduce pet overpopulation, promote responsible breeding practices and prevent families from unknowingly purchasing sick animals. With varying local ordinances in place and further action at the city level now restricted, it is important for the state to provide a clear and consistent approach that prioritizes both animal welfare and consumer protection."

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