City News

Early voting and kitten rescue by police top this Dallas city news

Kitten inside police squad car.

Grand Prairie police

Probably the biggest news of the week in Dallas is the new COVID-19 rollback with bars now closed and other businesses at a reduced capacity, but that's already covered here. In other Dallas news, there's a run-off election next week, some road closures, some media scrutiny on street racing, and a kitten rescue in Grand Prairie.

Here's what happened in Dallas this week:

Runoff election
The Presidential election in November seems like a world away now, but there is a follow-up run-off taking place on Tuesday December 8.

Balch Springs, Coppell, Duncanville, and Irving all have city council races. In Dallas, there are two school board positions to be determined.

One is for the DISD Board of Trustees in District 2, with Nancy Rodriguez running against incumbent Dustin Marshall.

Rodriguez won the greatest number of votes in the November election, notable given the disparity between how much money the two candidates raised: Marshall raised $192,451 versus Rodriguez who raised $22,100.

The Texan did a story on their race.

The other is for Dallas College Board of Trustees in District 5, pitting William Wesley Jameson against Cliff Boyd.

Roadway closures
There are more closures on I-635 this weekend: Eastbound I-635 main lanes at Forest Lane will be closed on Friday December 4 and westbound I-635 main lanes at Forest Lane will be closed on Saturday December 5. The reason: to perform beam settings. Traffic will be detoured to the frontage roads. Street closures will also take place at Forest Lane, Abrams Road, and Markville Drive.

Westbound I-30 from Texas 161 to Great Southwest Parkway will have lane closures on December 5 from 7 am-3 pm, and on December 7 from 8 pm-5 am.

Street racing woes
Street racing keeps being a problem, and it's catching the media's eye.

Fox 4 notes that street racing incidents "have nearly doubled in 2020." CBS 11 quotes Dallas residents who are "Fed Up With Growing Street Racing Crowds" saying "Please help us." The Dallas Morning News says in an editorial that street racing in Dallas is "dangerously out of control."

It looks like Tim Rogers at D Magazine tried to post one of his "funny" blog items, titled "LET'S TALK ABOUT THIS TIM: Helping Councilwoman Cara Mendelsohn Understand Street Racing." But if you click on the link, it says "Page Not Found."

The Dallas Observer did a post with a Journalist's idea of a catchy headline, "Dallas Tries To Tap The Brakes On Street Racing" — it's car-related, see. But "tap the brakes" is "to slow down or to be cautious, to carefully reconsider something." Seems like Dallas wants to hit the brakes or pump the brakes.

The Dallas Police Department briefed the Dallas City Council, with some numbers: Approximately 2,000 street racers are out on weekends. Some enforcement has occurred: 1,196 arrests, 612 spectator citations, 184 felony charges, and 48 gun seizures. Police have towed 659 vehicles and recovered 34 stolen vehicles.

Kitten rescued
Two heroic Grand Prairie police officers rescued a kitten from the cold. Grand Prairie officers Jones and Rodriguez were on patrol when they came across the stray kitten.

"He was so cold and scared but he walked right up to me. I picked him up and stuffed him in my jacket," they said.

The GPPD posted a video of the kitten inside the patrol car, saying, "This little furball went from brrr to prrr."

The kitten, which one commenter likened to a Maine coon, was taken in by Prairie Paws, the city's municipal animal shelter. He appears to be named "Badger," and already has an interested adoptee.

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."