Most Eviction Hearings Will Be Delayed Until Month’s End. That is according to County Judge Clay Jenkins, who says he has support from eight of the 10 justices of the peace. Evictions won’t begin again until August 24, partly because Congress has waffled on extending $600 a week unemployment benefits. Gov. Greg Abbott refused to issue a statewide eviction ban, so Jenkins did it locally.
It Was a Bad Week For Ruel Hamilton. He’s the low-income housing developer who’s facing federal charges that he bribed a former City Councilwoman for preference in getting tax breaks on one of his developments. That Councilwoman, Carolyn Davis, was killed after being struck by a drunken driver last year. So the feds lost her testimony. But on Thursday, another developer pleaded guilty to a similar scheme: Devin Hall said he paid at least $8,000 to Davis to “use her political influence to further his real estate projects.” In return, Davis voted to issue Hall a $650,000 forgivable loan on an apartment complex. He paid the bribes in cash payments and through an intermediary. Hamilton is accused of something similar, but the feds say he gave Davis $40,000. Before her death, Davis had pleaded guilty to accepting Hamilton’s bribes. Earlier this week, Hamilton was placed on house arrest after he contacted a former employee who was also a state’s witness. Prosecutors say he told the employee that she did not have to talk to investigators and that his company would pay for her attorney. Hamilton has denied any wrongdoing and said the contact was a mistake.
Dallas County Records Fewest New Coronavirus Cases in Weeks. Yesterday, we had 230 new COVID-19 cases and 10 deaths. That’s the fewest since June 1. But I’d like to direct you to these tweets from CBS 11’s Andrea Lucia. Testing is way down. On July 8, 2,210 people were tested at city of Dallas sites. Yesterday, just 1,020 were tested. The past few days have also hovered closer to a thousand tests.
Please Give Us Mavs-Clippers in the First Round. The Mavericks lost 126-111, but the game was close basically the whole way. I think the Mavs can give the Clips some trouble. This was a fun one and I want more.
Sunny Weekend Ahead. We’re looking at a bright few days with a high at 99 and lows at about 80. I guess that’s OK?
