A reader wants to wait for new Dallas leadership before making major changes to the government system.
Chitose Suzuki/The Dallas Morning News
Wait for new City Council
Re: “A strong (ish) mayor for Dallas? Let’s look at the root of the problems first,” Sunday editorial.
I agree that change must come but not from the ones currently in charge, including those behind the scenes — the Dallas Citizens Council. It is time for fundamental change in how we, the citizens, interact and demand accountability from all 15.
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To gain an endorsement from some organizations, you are asked to sign a solidarity pledge and agree to meet with said organization on a regular basis to discuss the state of the city. We should all demand those kinds of answerable conversations.
Tom Leppert takes the City Council to task about AT&T moving to Plano. He was the mayor from 2007-2011 when AT&T relocated to Dallas from San Antonio. I seem to remember, shortly after the relocation, AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson requested the bus stop be moved from in front of his building. That happened so fast! Caught the employees off guard, since many rode the bus downtown. There were also programs to move the unsheltered out of downtown.
We have an opportunity to make real progress with the 2027 November City Council and mayor elections. In my opinion, we need to hold off on making any decisions until after we have new leadership in place. No bond money for this City Council!
Bonnie L. Mathias, Dallas/Pleasant Grove
Data centers downtown?
Re: “Don’t move 911 and emergency center — Dallas City Hall is the best location for these vital functions,” by Paul Ridley and David Voss, Friday Opinion.
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Could downtown Dallas office and other buildings (City Hall) with vacant floors and areas, or which are no longer useful, be converted to satellite data centers designed to serve area businesses or government operations?
Reading this column by Ridley and Voss about I.M. Pei’s City Hall makes me wonder if the building could still house Dallas’ emergency medical services’ underground dispatch center with upper floors equipped with data center equipment to serve Dallas’ or downtown’s data needs.
Kevin Wehrmeister, Allen
Get a copy of water bill
Re: “Hundreds of Texas data centers facing ‘landmark’ investigation — Info on water usage not given as required by state law, AG says,” Friday Metro & Business story.
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Data centers are not reporting on water usage. What? Don’t they get water bills? How difficult could it be to get a copy of their water bill showing usage from the city or a billing authority? Someone or something monitors these meters for billing purposes. Just wondering.
No common sense
Re: “Eat, drink and be ticketed — Dallas City Hall is cracking down on restaurants…or bars…or both?” by Robert Wilonsky, Friday Opinion.
Wilonsky does a great job in this column. I was reminded of a story about a friend of mine who owned a small logistics company. One day, one of the federal government’s alphabet mafia showed up claiming that he violated certain regulations.
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The agents spent months and eventually confessed they couldn’t find anything wrong. He was then notified that they were going to stay until he paid $250,000. He wasn’t that successful, tossed the keys to the agents and left.
I found that hard to believe and shared the story with another friend who said that the logistics company got out cheap. He knew a company with the same circumstances that had to pay over $2 million.
The city of Dallas apparently has its own mafia that has a similar mindset. The city attorney’s office simply regurgitates a script without an ounce of common sense. Dallas has a business-friendly reputation, as Wilonsky states. But it seems to be bending over to undo that reputation.
The street-naming debacle in the same paper is a first cousin of this overzealous enforcement.
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Worried about Texas’ jewel
Re: “Big Bend facing lasting damage — Construction of roads and barriers threatens a fragile ecosystem,” by Chris Wheeler and Sonny Hutchison, Sunday Opinion.
It is a travesty what is happening with the jewel of our great state of Texas, Big Bend National Park. Where are our governor and senators and representatives in stopping this? I will seriously consider candidates other than Republican in upcoming elections, based on the construction ruining our precious park.
No pedophile protectors
In the race for the Texas seat in the U.S. Senate, I see two ads repeatedly, sometimes back to back. Both focus on the issue of child sex trafficking.
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The Ken Paxton ad tells of a case where the trafficker is serving a 40-year sentence, and another accomplice is serving 20 years. The website they used has been shut down — all under the guidance of our current attorney general, Ken Paxton.
The James Talarico ad recounts another case. In that one, the trafficker was given a jail sentence of one day by Paxton. Also mentioned is the fact that the trafficker in that case was represented by an attorney who is connected to a Paxton donor.
In summary, it seems that Paxton is knowledgeable and capable of doing a great job of enforcing the law to protect the people of Texas. However, if there is the additional factor of money, the “what’s in it for me?” — then that is the only thing that matters.
As the Talarico ad concludes, we don’t need any more pedophile protectors in Washington!
Jan McDowell, Carrollton
No straight plan
It would seem people need to read up on our immigration policies before writing. They will discover that although living here for 30-plus years, there is no straight plan for people here illegally to become a citizen.
Thomas Smith, Deer Park