Another 100 Cases of Coronavirus in Dallas County. It’s the second day in a row we topped triple digits, which lines up with the virus’ incubation period. As County Judge Clay Jenkins noted yesterday evening, these folks could’ve been exposed to the virus up to two weeks ago. That was before the county put its stay at home order in place and began closing bars and restaurants. Will these measures of physical distancing work? We’ll know more next week. The death total is now at 17.
David Brown Is Headed to Chicago. The former Dallas police chief will now lead the Chicago police. He’ll be faced with the city’s longstanding violent crime problem on the South and West sides as well as the spread of coronavirus. Mayor Lori Lightfoot called him a “humble leader” and noted the community policing initiatives he championed in Dallas. Perhaps most importantly, Brown will lead 13,000 officers as the department works through a federally mandated consent decree to reform its operations after the shooting death and subsequent coverup of Laquan McDonald. Here’s the Chicago Tribune‘s writeup on Brown’s new gig.
The Need for Food Is Significant. Cars backed up into the neighborhoods near Fair Park to pick up food from the North Texas Food Bank’s popup center yesterday morning.
Dallas Gets Its New Park Board Director. The Parks Board made its interim leader official yesterday. It will be John Jenkins, a 25 year veteran of the department. Some thought the decision was happening at a poor time, and, indeed, streaming problems made the last search committee meeting unlistenable and cut out during yesterday’s meeting. But Board Chair Calvert Collins-Bratton told The Dallas Morning News that the search was “exhaustive” and “had more public input than recent searches for city manager, police chief, fire chief, and city attorney combined.” Jenkins comes with high praise from present and former Park Board members and department staffers.
Jenkins Puts the Hammer Down on Hobby Lobby. He called out the craft chain by name in his nightly press conference last night, ordering the corporation to follow the stay at home order and shut its doors. There were some solid burns: “There are plenty of places to buy yarn and art supplies that are fully compliant with our orders and have robust online platforms.”
Cold and Rain to Come. Temperatures will drop into the 40s this afternoon, bringing with it spotty showers. Your highs all weekend are in the mid-50s. Public health officials are hoping this will aid efforts to keep people in their homes, perhaps even flattening the curve of coronavirus transmissions.
