A cloud of bulldozer dust
I am a lifelong resident of Dallas. In the 70 years I have lived here, I have seen our history disappear in a cloud of dust. We have no history, only memories of what once was.
We begin by failing to maintain our buildings because it’s cheaper in the short term. Unfortunately, it’s expensive in the long run. We now are debating whether to bulldoze our I.M. Pei-designed landmark City Hall. It is socially criminal to think such a thought.
Why are we even debating the proposition? Because the building currently housing two sports teams is now obsolete at 25 years of age. It, in turn, was built after another taxpayer-financed arena lasted just 20 years before the bulldozers ate it. Who thinks this is a good idea? Real estate developers and two sports teams.
This conduct cannot go on and on. Now is the time to stop it and begin to preserve our heritage.
Opinion
Gary Sibley, Dallas
Money and accountability
Why weren’t city managers or whoever was responsible for the maintenance of City Hall held accountable for the continued deterioration of the property? Why weren’t they held accountable for poor stewardship of Dallas citizens’ money? What happened to all that money?
Why weren’t the people who occupied it daily more diligent in recognizing the faults along the way and more forceful in demanding the necessary repairs? When they go home, after leaving a place they occupy daily for eight or more hours, do they let that home fall into disrepair to the level where it needs to be torn down?
What a shame. I have traveled the world, and only in America do we consider public buildings, bought with taxpayer money, to have a shorter life span than the people who inhabit them.
Darryl Bloom, Plano
Another public-funded building
I was surprised to read that the city of Dallas is considering committing more than $50 million in public funds for a practice facility for the Dallas Wings. While I appreciate the enthusiasm that many have for the WNBA and for expanding women’s professional sports, this proposal raises a fundamental question about priorities.
The city has reportedly already pledged $55 million toward the project, and we are now being told that at least $27 million more may be needed. At a time when Dallas is already carrying significant municipal debt, this level of public investment deserves careful scrutiny.
Dallas continues to face very real challenges in funding core services. City leaders regularly cite the need for more officers and improved public safety resources for Dallas police. Infrastructure maintenance, street repair, parks and other essential services also compete for limited taxpayer dollars. AT&T is going to Plano, with the Dallas Stars right on their heels, and city leaders are in a panic over the future of downtown Dallas.
Professional sports teams, regardless of the league, are private enterprises. If a new practice facility is essential to the success of the Dallas Wings, then ownership and private investors should bear the primary responsibility for funding it.
Dallas residents are not opposed to women’s professional sports, nor to the success of the Wings. But taxpayers should reasonably expect that scarce public dollars be directed first toward the fundamental responsibilities of city government.
When basic services and public safety remain under pressure, committing more than $50 million to a practice facility for a privately owned team sends exactly the wrong message about the city’s priorities.
Bill Rogge, Dallas
Too pricey
Re: “Dallas dropped the ball on the Wings’ practice facility,” Sunday Editorials.
I applaud your editorial. The costs thrown about for this facility are absurd. I know what commercial and industrial facilities should cost, and this facility should be at most $24 million. Even that is being generous.
It’s a bit ironic that in a metro area that leads the nation in economic development, our city leaders cannot get a simple basketball training center delivered at a normal budget.
Jeffrey York, Dallas
Horrifying situation
Re: “A mom deported, 4 kids left behind,” by Robert Wilonsky, Wednesday Opinion.
I am horrified — horrified — reading Wilonsky’s column on the deportation of the northwest Dallas mother of four. She had to leave behind her four children, all U.S. citizens. The eldest, 17 and a Thomas Jefferson High School senior, must now care for her siblings.
Is there absolutely no decency in the Trump administration at all? Is the Republican Party (including Gov. Greg Abbott and his administration) so bereft of empathy and decency that this can happen in this country, in our city?
I am heartbroken that this is happening in Dallas, in my neighborhood. Can we please all pull together and help these children and so many others living in fear and poverty? Is basic human decency now so rare that this behavior is commonplace and acceptable?
My only hope is that many more people will be so outraged that they vote in November and change this depraved behavior. This is not America!
Jim Reisch, Dallas/Preston Hollow
I paid for the right to vote
I have been voting for 69 years (since I was 21). You can count on one hand the number of times I missed voting. I am a veteran and served to ensure that we have the right to vote.
In my mind, voting is a duty, an obligation, that must be exercised. I have been a registered Republican. I have been a registered Democrat. Today, neither party has earned my loyalty.
I am an independent. I will vote for the person I feel will do the best job, regardless of party affiliation. By being forced to declare a party, I am being disenfranchised. I had favorite candidates in both parties but couldn’t vote for them.
I paid a high price to serve my country and deserve the right to vote as I see fit.
Richard Boslow, Plano
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