Let Me Sum Up

Is DISD's sudden attack of reasonableness chronic? Plus: Karl Rove is a liar!

Sometimes in this space — oftentimes, I hope — the point is to rail against stupidity, to decry some crippling lack of logic in the ongoing conversation about the city. Today, however, I’m just here to praise.

Carefully read Matthew Haag’s story about the proposed security improvements for DISD schools. There are several heartening takeaways to be savored. Given that we usually linger for weeks on bad news out of DISD, why don’t you go ahead and read it twice.

I just want a few things to sink in. First, notice the proposal itself. It is not just reasonable, as noted in this excellent summation by Mike Hashimoto — it is so reasonable as to be brilliantly so. It is, in fact, miraculous in its reasonableness. When you exist in an institution and a political climate conditioned to react to reason as antibodies to a virus, such a strong and sustained sign of reason suggests an avian flu-like outbreak in the halls of DISD.

The proposal doesn’t suggest arming teachers. (In fact, the DISD police chief rightly suggests that arming those who aren’t properly trained does more harm than good). It doesn’t suggest creating impenetrable gulags where students learn to exist only in fear.

It calls for these highlighted items: motion-detecting video camera systems at 150 elementary schools; locking front doors with a buzzer/camera entry system; electronic card readers at employee-only entrances; one-way peepholes in portable buildings. (This of course would supplement the police officers already on most high school and middle school campuses.)

This is just sensible, affordable policy. It is, as a DISDer noted to me, bringing the district in line with what most other corporations do in terms of security. Heck, it’s not much more than many libraries do.

Second, notice the care with which this report was composed. The process was not rushed. A large contingent surveyed every school in DISD. The district’s police chief, Craig Miller, noted that many of the schools provide unique challenges simply because of their age.

This squares with my experience. When my daughter went to Stonewall Jackson Elementary, I lived across the street, and so I would sometimes just run inside to drop off something she’d left behind. I could only get in the front door, and the principal’s office was right in front, so I was always immediately confronted and told to sign in.

At Booker T. Washington downtown, the new building has a guard and metal detectors at the front doors, but it was easy to get in the back door to the parking lot and wander the halls to find her when I needed to find her, and I was never questioned.

Third, note how little drama there has been in the public examination of this document. No leaks. No silly missteps by Mike Miles. (His careful statement to the paper may seem lukewarm, but don’t let that fool you — he’s just being careful not to get ahead of the school board before they debate the proposal’s merits this week.)

In fact, ever since Jennifer Sprague left, Miles has been making every right move imaginable. Hmmm. Wonder who’s giving him communications advice these days?

No matter the reason, it’s good to see the district do something smart. This plan deserves community support. Here’s hoping heretofore rarely seen condition of reasonableness becomes a chronic affliction.

Elsewhere

Good columnar week for the Floyd-Hashimoto household. JFloyd’s column today on the Chris Kyle funeral is spot-on.

And Steve Blow has been on a rush too. He’s had a string of solid columns, the latest of which is this (late, but) correct take on the Larry McMurtry blather in TexMo this month.

Karl Rove is a liar. Huh. Didn’t see that coming.

Troy Aikman and Emmitt Smith will be on hand with Mayor Mike to announce a downtown rally against domestic violence. I’m sure Smith will be available for interviews afterward, and for most of the next few weeks and months, regarding this issue. Because he’s lending his name to the effort, so why wouldn’t he be? So please, media, approach him, ask to speak with him at a later date. I'm sure he's not too busy.

Retweets

Hey, let’s all fly with our middle fingers extended toward the heavens! Tempting fate is fun!

It's been 4 years since last crash of US commercial jet; 2012 was safest year for air travel since 1945. nyti.ms/WXWZOw

— Jim Roberts (@nycjim) February 12, 2013

What has gotten into DISD lately? And can we make sure it stays there?

Photo courtesy of DISD

What has gotten into DISD lately? And can we make sure it stays there?

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Park news

New I-35 deck park in southern Dallas moves closer to spring 2026 debut

Courtesy rendering

Renderings for Halperin Park.

A massive deck park spanning Interstate 35E in southern Dallas is set to open in late spring 2026. Called Halperin Park, the five-acre community space has been under construction since 2017 and will be completed in two phases:

Phase One (finishing in late spring) will include the section from Ewing Avenue to Lancaster Avenue and will feature a pavilion, amphitheater, playground area, interactive fountains, a second level overlooking the Dallas Zoo and the highway, and a large event room for every dining and special events.

Phase Two (to be completed over the next five years) will add the park section toward Marsalis Avenue, with an additional pavilion and extra gathering space.

The project is being developed by the Southern Gateway Public Green Foundation and built by the Texas Department of Transportation. Funding comes from the North Central Texas Council of Governments, as well as the private Halperin Foundation, which donated $23 million in 2024 and secured naming rights.

In January, the Dallas City Council approved spending up to $8 million to complete Phase One for spring completion.

The public-private initiative will create $1 billion in economy impact over the next five years, according to a study by UNT Dallas.

Rendering of Halperin ParkCourtesy rendering

A park with purpose
Developers say the park aims to integrate the west side of Oak Cliff, which was somewhat segregated with the construction of I-35 in Oak Cliff in the 1960s, leading to low-income communities and generational poverty.

The project started nine years ago, when the Texas Department of transportation planned a reconstruction of I-35 and began gathering neighbors’ feedback. The result was a plan to widen bicycle and pedestrian lanes in the service roads alongside the highway, and to build a deck over the highway between Ewing and Marsalis avenues, adjacent to the Dallas Zoo. (Similar Klyde Warren Park's "deck park" concept.)

While the project faced some skepticism at first, it later gained momentum as private supporters continued to join.

“Forty percent of the Dallas population lives in South Dallas, yet this segment only accounts for 15 percent of the tax base,” says April Allen, President and CEO of the Southern Gateway Public Green Foundation, citing the opportunity to address the economic equality in the area through the development of the park and all the business it can bring.

Rendering of Halperin Park.Courtesy rendering

Neighborhood pride
For Allen, this project is personal. The Toronto-born executive first moved to Dallas 22 years ago to work at Neiman Marcus, after getting her engineering degree in Canada and her MBA at Harvard. Oak Cliff felt like the right place for her as an intown neighborhood, with a confluency of cultures, local pride and an entrepreneurial spirit, as she describes it. Her first Realtor told her Oak Cliff was “not the right place for her." Instead of choosing a different neighborhood, Allen chose a new Realtor.

She has lived on the same street in North Cliff since, now raising her two kids with her husband, an Oak Cliff native, whom she credits for her further understanding of the neighborhood, its roots and civic dynamics.

Under Allen’s leadership, Halperin Park is focused on a community-first approach that provides support to the neighbors through programs around health and wellness, after-school activities, local food trucks and markets, and educational workshops to help expand homeownership and financial acumen.

To highlight the history and culture of Oak Cliff, they will feature an annual Walk of Fame, lifting up the stories of those who contributed to Oak Cliff history, with the first one happening as part of the inauguration of the park, organizers say.

They will provide their own 24-hour security team to ensure a safe place for families and kids, with clean and well-lit crosswalks.

Given their proximity with the zoo, parking will be available on the East side of the park at the zoo site, with a walkway to the park. They are working on parking options for the West side.

“We want to create a space for community growth and more business in the area," says Allen. "We are already seeing this come to life with projects such as East Dock, and we are excited for future investment that the park will bring."

parks