April Towery

April Towery is former News Development Director for CandysDirt.com and covers Dallas City Hall. She studied journalism at Texas A&M University and has been an award-winning reporter and editor for more than 25 years.

House Republicans Pass Property Tax Relief Bill And Adjourn Tuesday, Leaving The Senate to Follow Suit

By April Towery / May 31, 2023 /

In a swift special session Tuesday, the Texas House of Representatives gave their counterparts in the Senate an option: take their proposal to use $12.3 billion to reduce school property taxes statewide or nothing passes this session. The move — hailed as the biggest property tax relief plan in Texas history — came just hours…

Special Session Called as GOP Lawmakers Fail to Make a Deal on Property Tax Cut 

By April Towery / May 30, 2023 /

Gov. Greg Abbott announced late Monday evening that the Texas Legislature will convene for a special session, and a No. 1 priority is to “cut property taxes for hardworking Texans.” As he was sworn into his third term in January, Abbott promised to use a big chunk of the state’s $33 billion surplus to cut…

Dallas Public Facility Corporation Projects Still Going Strong Despite City’s Lack of Outreach

By April Towery / May 30, 2023 /

The public facility corporation structure — a new kind of housing project — was introduced in Dallas last year, but it seems that few have a tight grasp on how it works and what the return on investment is.  That’s due in part to the city’s resistance to marketing Public Facility Corporation projects and confusion…

Preston Center Shooting Has District 13 Residents Questioning Public Safety

By April Towery / May 29, 2023 /

A May 19 shooting at District 13’s Preston Center left a security guard dead less than three weeks after a massacre at Allen Premium Outlets that killed eight and injured seven.  While North Texans have long been aware that car break-ins frequently occur in shopping center parking lots and garages, there’s a bigger public safety…

Sycamore Strategies Wants to Redevelop Historic Cabana Hotel Into Affordable Apartments 

By April Towery / May 28, 2023 /

A local developer announced last week that he’s buying the Cabana Hotel and redeveloping it into affordable apartments. Zachary Krochtengel of Sycamore Strategies recently made headlines for his plans to build a mixed-income project, Cypress Creek at Forest Lane, in the Lake Highlands area. That project was denied by the Dallas City Council due to…