Neat Public/Private Deal Lands Oak Cliff Affordable Housing. Oddly, the Dallas Morning News editorial board brings us a news report. Dallas County needed a new government center, which it’s opening on Jefferson Avenue. That leaves the old spot on Beckley empty. Rather than sell it, the county has agreed to lease it to the Catholic Housing Initiative, which will pursue federal tax credits to build affordable housing in the space. Called Gateway Oak Cliff, the plan is to rent 46 units at market rate and another 184 for folks making 60 percent or less of the area median income. For a family of four, that’s a total income of about $51,000 a year. For a single person, it’s about $36,000. The county will essentially operate a ground lease. These are exactly the types of properties the city and county need to encourage to increase the housing stock for the working class, something that’s been very difficult in Dallas. But, as Dallas County proves here, there are possibilities with public land.
Chad Morris to Coach the Allen Eagles. The former SMU and Arkansas coach has made his way to Allen and its collegiate-quality stadium. Most recently, Morris was the offensive coordinator for Auburn. He was fired from Arkansas after a 2-8 start. The hope is he can replicate his success at SMU up north.
FBI Searching Area Near Where Seattle Woman’s Body Was Found. The body of 23-year-old Marisela Botello Valadez was found in a wooded area near Wilmer last week. She went missing from Deep Ellum last year; police have made two arrests in her death and are searching for a third suspect. Yesterday, Fox 4’s helicopter spotted FBI agents combing through the wooded area. They didn’t say much about their search, but suspect Charles Beltran remains at large.
Tarrant County Coroner Screwed Up A Lot. NBC 5 got its hands on an audit of the suspended coroner to our west, Dr. Marc Krouse. The report found that he made 59 mistakes in 40 investigations, which ranged from oversights to outright omissions. Dr. Nizam Peerwani, the longtime Tarrant County medical examiner, oversaw the investigation. The Dallas County District Attorney’s Office is investigating as an independent body but wouldn’t comment on the matter.
