City News Roundup

It's all about people getting promoted in this Dallas city news roundup

There's a new guy running the show.

Dallas Love Field

This roundup of news around Dallas is perfect for those who are more about the who than the what. It's dominated by appointments including a new interim director at Dallas Love Field, and a new honcho at Habitat For Humanity.

Here's a people-centric version of what happened in Dallas this week:

New at Love Field
Patrick Carreno has been appointed Interim Director of Aviation to oversee Dallas Love Field, Dallas Executive Airport, and the Dallas Vertiport. He replaces Director Mark Duebner, who retired after an interminable 27 years.

Carreno most previously served as Assistant Director of Operations and joined the team in December 2021. He has a degree in Aviation Management and a commercial pilot's license, and was previously Vice President for Allegheny County Airport Authority, overseeing Airport Operations, Field Maintenance, and Security Departments at Pittsburgh International Airport.

New at Emergency Services
Dallas County has hired a new Chief of Emergency Services to oversee the county’s Homeland Security and Emergency Management department: Scott T. Forster has more than 20 years of experience, previously filling similar roles in Bucks County, Pennsylvania and Carbon County, Pennsylvania. He was director of training and operations for the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency, and served most recently as senior manager in charge of Emergency Preparedness for Hershey Entertainment and Resorts.

New at Habitat for Humanity
Dallas Area Habitat for Humanity has appointed William "Bill" Eubanks III as its new CEO to continue the nonprofit’s work to drive affordable housing across the city. The announcement was made at the organization’s annual Dream Builders Luncheon featuring former Dallas Cowboys Darren Woodsen and Tony Casillas. Eubanks succeeds outgoing CEO Dave Crawford, who announced his retirement in May of this year. As CEO, Eubanks will oversee the organization's 80+ employees, 200+ volunteers, and its Dallas Neighborhood Homes construction and Dallas Neighborhood Alliance mortgage operations, as well as its ReStore locations.

Eubanks joins Habitat with more than 40 years of experience in real estate operations, asset management, and business operations. He has served as COO for KFC and National VP of Pizza Hut, in addition to owning and operating 32 franchises with Yum! Brands. Most recently, he served as President of Eubanks Holdings overseeing commercial property development. He will assume the position of CEO of Dallas Habitat on November 14.

Christmas radio
Too soon? On November 10, Dallas radio station Star 102.1 switched from adult contemporary to full-time holiday music. This is the seventh straight year the station has executed such a switch. They'll play Christmas music around the clock, before switching back to adult contemporary on December 26.

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share the road

Texas races to the bottom in new list of best states for cyclists

Photo by Garry Neesam on Unsplash

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In what will come as no surprise to cyclists around Dallas, the state of Texas is not a good place for bicycling riding. According to a new report of the "Most Cycling-Friendly States in the U.S.," Texas comes in at No. 47 — meaning that only three other states are worse.

The report, from Philadelphia personal injury law firm KaplunMarx, examines all 50 states based on six metrics: Air quality index, the number of cyclist deaths per one million residents, bike routes per square mile, local government actions supporting cycling, federal funding for cycling projects, and bicycle laws.

Texas musters a mere 31 points out of 100 for its "cycling friendly score."

The most cycling friendly state in the U.S.: Minnesota, which earned 84 points to claim the title.

According to the report's findings, there have been 15 local government actions per capita in Texas that integrate pedestrians and cyclists in transportation projects. Texas' has a 41 air quality index value, and there are approximately 1.2 bike routes per 1,000 square miles in the state.

On cyclist deaths, Texas does a little better, with three cyclist deaths per one million residents in Texas — about nine percent lower than the national average.

According to KaplunMarx founding partner Ted Kaplun, there is an average of 857 cyclist fatalities in the U.S. every year. He adds that every measure or community effort to improve cyclist-friendliness is beneficial for all Americans.

"It's crucial for all states to continually assess and enhance their cycling provisions, learning from both high-ranking peers and their own experiences," he says.

Top-ranking Minnesota has only one cyclist death per one million state residents. It also has about 27.2 bike routes per 1,000 square miles.

After Minnesota, the remaining top five best states for cyclists are Massachusetts (No. 2), Rhode Island (No. 3), Washington (No. 4), and Iowa (No. 5).

At the bottom of the list are Nevada (No. 48), Arizona (No. 49), and Utah (No. 50) — all of which performed far worse than Texas to be declared the three least cycling-friendly states.

The entire country still has areas for improvement when it comes to creating a safer environment for cyclists, regardless of where each state landed on the list, according to Kaplun.

"With over 53 million Americans riding bicycles regularly, the importance of cycling-friendly infrastructure and safety measures cannot be overstated," said Kaplun in the report. "This isn't just about rankings – it's about enhancing the quality of life, promoting sustainable transportation, and most crucially, saving lives."

texas reports rankings