This time last year I was in Mexico sipping margaritas in a hammock overlooking the Pacific Ocean. This year, here’s what’s up:
Dallas City Council Agrees to Rename a 4-Mile Section of South Lamar in Memory of Botham Jean. This was one vote that was unanimous. The change will go in effect in 60 days, at which point Botham Jean Boulevard will run from Interstate 30 to South Central Expressway, past South Side Flats, the apartments where Jean lived and was killed by Amber Guyger, and the Dallas Police Department HQ. “This street on which he chose to live and the street on which he died can serve as a lasting memory of the upstanding resident who loved Dallas so much,” said his mother, Allison Jean.
Special Training Program Approved for DPD Officers. Dallas City Council members approved the Active Bystandership in Law Enforcement program yesterday. ABLE will be run by the University of North Texas at Dallas’ Caruth Police Institute. The goal, says BJ Wagner, Caruth’s executive director, is to train first responders how and when to intervene to prevent their colleagues from causing harm. Training will start in February and run through 2024, with costs capped at $300,000.
Dallas County Adds 2,994 Coronavirus Cases and 21 Deaths. By the end of next week, UT Southwestern Medical Center predicts, the county could have up to 1,900 patients hospitalized for COVID-19 and 3,600 new cases a day. The vaccination site at Fair Park was temporarily opened up yesterday to all North Texans over the age of 75 to take advantage of a surplus of shots, which critics blame in part on a disorganized process that has been particularly difficult to access by high-risk Latino and Black residents. Dallas County residents age 65 and older, or 18 and older with an underlying medical condition, are advised to register for the vaccine here.
POTUS Was Impeached for a Historic Second Time. Texas reps mostly voted along party lines except for Fort Worth’s Kay Granger, one of four Republicans who simply didn’t participate.
