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Matt Goodman wrote a story in the May issue of D Magazine about a lawyer who keeps landlords in check. No one else in the country is doing what Mark Melton does with his Dallas Eviction Advocacy Center. He’s an interesting cat who worked as a bouncer before becoming a partner at Holland & Knight. As you can see in the above photo, he’s got a Zalat Pizza tattoo on his arm. That’s how much he loves pizza. Check out this episode of EarBurner to learn about your city and the foot infection that almost killed Mark. (Does that sound gross? It’s a little gross.)

Scottie was arrested last night. Everyone knows this already. OK, but that V neck orange shirt? Come on, Louisville. You can do better.

Scottie Scheffler Detained in Louisville by Police. Louisville Metro Police took the world’s No. 1 ranked golfer into custody as he tried to drive into the entrance of the Valhalla Golf Club without following their instructions early this morning. A shuttle bus had struck and killed a man around 5 a.m., and Scheffler tried to get around the scene by driving on a median. An officer pulled the Dallas native out of the vehicle, put him in cuffs, and arrested him. He’s charged with second-degree assault of a police officer, third-degree criminal mischief, reckless driving, and disregarding traffic signals from an officer directing traffic. His tee time is 10:08 a.m. EST and he’s still in jail.

The NRA Is In Town. Gov. Greg Abbott and former President Donald Trump will visit the NRA convention on Saturday, with the latter delivering the keynote. Police expect hundreds of gun-law reform protesters and upwards of 70,000 attendees at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center.

Summer Is Here. Hope you enjoyed the last gasp of spring yesterday, because we’re now living in the 90s and it doesn’t look like it’s going anywhere. There’s a low chance of scattered thunderstorms today with highs in the low 80s. The high tomorrow leaps to 91 and Sunday’s will be 92. Cloudy and sunny weekend ahead, folks. Use it to prepare for the blast furnace we’re about to be living in.

As Matt mentioned in his earlier post about Interim City Manager Kim Tolbert locking down Chief Eddie García, the press release included a football analogy that, depending on your taste, was a bit much. Tolbert said: “If this was [sic] NFL Football, we were able to keep Chief García on the Dallas Team; he’s the right quarterback to lead our police department. We certainly didn’t want to lose him to free agency.”

For my taste? Tolbert didn’t go far enough. If she really cared, if she actually wanted to become our permanent city manager, here’s the press release she would have given us:

“If this were the national league of football, we are like Howie Roseman, the general manager of the Philadelphia Eagles. I know everyone in Dallas hates the Eagles, but you have to admit that Howie has done a wonderful job of balancing current needs with the needs of the future. DaVonta Smith. Need I say more? Let me say more. I see Chief García as the city’s middle linebacker. The other team, the one I’ll call the Bad Guys, they try to run all over Dallas. Not with García patrolling the middle of the field. He knows how to call the right defensive formations to stymie the Bad Guys. And, like Howie Roseman signing C.J. Uzomah to a one-year contract, we made a move to keep our tight end room operating at full strength. I know that’s not the same thing as a linebacker, but it’s still football, and I just want you to know that Dallas is all in. One final note: Zeke Elliott? Seriously?!”

The city of Dallas has reached an “agreement” with the police chief to keep him here for at least the next three years. The news was announced through a carefully worded press release from Interim City Manager Kim Tolbert that refers to this arrangement as a “plan” and a “commitment” but not a “contract,” which is something the city charter wouldn’t allow.

Dallas’ city charter defines department leaders like Chief Eddie García as at-will employees, meaning they’re welcome to walk and the city manager is welcome to fire them. That also makes them targets for other cities looking for a new top cop. The release says the “agreement” is “an addendum to the chief’s initial offer letter” and was signed Thursday afternoon. The new terms include a twice-annual $10,000 retention bonus and a commitment to remain in Dallas until May 2027. If he gets fired, he’ll get a full year’s salary, worth $306,440.40. If he resigns or is convicted “of an offense of moral turpitude or a felony criminal act,” he won’t receive anything.

“To live and work in Dallas is to love Dallas,” García said in a statement. “This is the right place to complete my service, and I know your police officers are honored to serve Dallas residents. We will keep doing our jobs with excellence and results.”

García became big news last week with sudden police chief openings in Houston and Austin. Former Dallas City Manager T.C. Broadnax is now running the show in the capitol city, and the close relationship he had with García alarmed City Hall about possible wandering eyes. Houston Mayor John Whitmire has been rumored to want García in the state’s largest city, particularly after implementing a violent crime reduction plan that’s showing results.

Dean Loses Appeal. Former Fort Worth police officer Aaron Dean lost his bid to have his 2022 manslaughter conviction reviewed by the state Court of Criminal Appeals. Dean was convicted of manslaughter in the 2019 shooting death of Atatiana Jefferson, who was up late playing video games with her nephew. Body camera footage showed that Dean never identified himself as an officer before the shooting and only gave Jefferson seconds to comply with a command to put her hands up.

New Children’s Campus Gets Big Donation. Mack Pogue, the late founder of Lincoln Property Co., and his wife Jean donated $100 million to Children’s Health and UT Southwestern Medical Center. The money will go toward the new $5 billion, 2 million-square-foot pediatric hospital set to open in about seven years. It’s not only the largest donation yet to the campus, but it’s also one of the largest philanthropic gifts publicly announced in North Texas history, Children’s says. The green space around the 33-acre site will be named Pogue Park.

Docu-series About Alleged North Texas Serial Murderer Streaming Now. Paramount+ is airing Pillowcase Murders, a series examining Billy Chemirmir and his alleged crimes. Chemirmir was convicted of killing two women but is suspected of killing many more. The majority of the murders happened at senior living facilities, where they were smothered with pillowcases. The perpetrator would then steal their jewelry and pawn it.

Prepare for a Soggy Day. It’s 73 degrees, and there’s a 30 percent chance that it’s already raining. If it’s not, it will be—the National Weather Service predicts an 80 percent chance of rain and thunderstorms after 10 a.m. It’ll drop to about 60 percent this evening and taper off overnight into Friday.

Every great hamburger starts with the bread. It’s maybe not the most important element, if you had to single one out, but the bread is the first thing to meet your lips and teeth. Plus you couldn’t pick the thing up without the bread. Above all, a burger is a sandwich.

Nick Rallo, a Dallas writer with an artery-clogging death wish, tackled this month’s cover story for D Magazine. I got to wondering how many burgers he ate for the assignment and how he survived it. Here’s what he said:

Southlake Families Call for Carroll ISD to Cooperate. The Department of Education has invited the district to negotiate a resolution on four claims that kids had been subjected to race and gender-based discrimination and that the district did not respond. Federal investigations that substantiate discrimination claims generally result in the district agreeing to some sort of action plan. Now, parents are urging Carroll ISD to come to the table and negotiate in good faith.

First Quarter Sees Hike in Apartment Demand. More than 5,000 units filled up in Dallas-Fort Worth during the first three months of 2024, which is the highest quarter since 2019. Rental rates had fallen for six months in 2023 as more and more new units came online, but analysts CoStar report seeing small increases that reflect the higher demand. About a third of the growth happened in Frisco and Prosper, Allen and McKinney, and North Fort Worth.

Walmart Wants Dallas Workers to Move to Arkansas. The company is shifting its corporate staff, remote and office workers, to headquarters in Bentonville, Ark. to use its new corporate campus. Walmart canceled its plans to open clinics in many of its stores and had already asked Austin workers to office out of its Sam’s Club innovation center in the West End.

About 10 minutes ago, Dallas officials announced that White Rock Lake has improved its bald eagle population by two: city conservation manager Brett Johnson says there are two eaglets in the nest at Lake Highlands Park.

“We are excited the bald eagles have two new members,” Johnson said in a news release. Dallas Park and Recreation’s conservation team and birding enthusiasts have been watching the eagles since March.

It’s a happy ending to what was a sad story. Two years ago, eagles nested in a tree at the same park. High winds blew the nest out of its tree, destroying the eggs inside.

This time, the city, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department are keeping a watchful eye on the fledgling (see what we did there?) family. That includes making sure the nest remains undisturbed.

Mavs Lose. The headline from the Oklahoman: “How on Earth Did Thunder Pull off Game 4 Win vs Mavericks?” Joe Mussatto wrote of the 100-96 Thunder win: “It looked as if the Mavericks had snatched the Thunder’s soul. Game over, series all but over. But Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had the magic elixir. He revived the Thunder with one mid-range jumper after another. He ventured into the teeth of the Mavericks’ defense and kicked out to teammates who had missed 3-pointers all night until they didn’t.” The Mavs would have won if they’d made free throws. They went 12 of 23, while the Thunder shot 23 of 24. This one had me swearing at my TV.

Stars Win. From the Denver Post: “For about 16 minutes Monday night, the shorthanded Colorado Avalanche, buoyed by a sensational start from goalie Alexandar Georgiev and a full-throated Ball Arena crowd, looked capable of pulling off the improbable. Alas, reality set in soon after that.” The Stars won 5-1, and they could probably shoot free throws better than the frickin Mavericks.

SEC Sues North Texas Man. The feds say Robert Tye Cournoyer spent $755,000 from his hemp business, Green Equity, on a lavish lifestyle and gambling. I wonder if he took the Mavs last night and is as pissed as I am.

DMN Argues to Keep Police Chief. Houston and San Antonio are both eyeing Dallas’ top cop. Says the newspaper’s editorial board: “We hope Dallas can keep Eddie García in town. He’s been a ray of hope and an example of excellence.” I hereby call on García to arrest several Mavs for their criminally boneheaded play.

The Southwestern Medical District has succeeded—if your metric is world-renowned healthcare and research—despite how inhospitable the neighborhood can feel to actual people. The home of UT Southwestern Medical Center, Parkland, and Children’s Health is also Dallas’ largest heat island, where miles of concrete soak up the sun. Its wide streets encourage speeding and can make it perilous for pedestrians, a troubling reality considering physicians, nurses, and students split their time between the district’s sprawling campuses. This pocket off of Interstate 35 was formerly an industrial area, and it still feels like it, despite its hospitals treating 3.3 million patients and employing more than 42,000 workers.  

For the last seven years, the Texas Trees Foundation has been imagining a new reality for the city’s critical economic and healthcare hub. The Medical District overhaul has turned the humble nonprofit into a project manager of an ambitious bit of urban design, daring to reengineer a neighborhood of more than 1,000 acres where patients can find solace in nature while doctors don’t have to dodge Chargers.

Tonight Texas Trees will announce that the project has reached 30 percent design status, a critical milestone that allows the city to begin planning engineering and for the federally mandated environmental clearance to begin. Too, the feds can now consider the project “shovel ready,” which increases the likelihood of the project getting more federal funding.

It is a practical extension of the organization’s research around curbing urban heat islands while adding to the city’s tree canopy. But the work in the Medical District has a more holistic goal, too. Modern healthcare architecture has responded to a bevy of studies that show patient outcomes improve when design considers their experience. This has led to more spacious rooms, windows, improved lighting, and other ways to make patients more comfortable that had rarely been considered in hospitals. All three of the largest entities in the district have employed tenets of “social design” in their new buildings. But the conditions outside reflect this neighborhood’s history as an industrial center, when trucks rumbled along Motor Avenue (now Medical District Drive).