City Hall

State Rep. Yvonne Davis to Dallas Council ‘I Don’t Apologize for Expecting Staff to Do What They Say’ 

By April Towery / October 13, 2024 /

About $20 million in federal funds slated for park upgrades, housing, and economic development in Dallas’ southern sector will disappear at the end of the year, city officials announced last week. The reason those funds haven’t been allocated is subject to debate, but we do know that District 111 State Rep. Yvonne Davis secured a…

Interim City Manager Highlights First 100-Days Wins, Confirms Permanent Bid

By April Towery / October 10, 2024 /

Dallasites have been watching Kimberly Bizor Tolbert like hawks since she took over the city manager’s seat — on an interim basis — in May. But just in case they missed something, Tolbert filed a memorandum last week outlining her successes during her first 100 days on the job.  A national search is underway for…

Now That ForwardDallas Is on The Books, What’s the Future of Accessory Dwelling Units?

By April Towery / October 7, 2024 /

 When the vote was taken on Sept. 25 to approve the ForwardDallas 2.0 comprehensive land use plan, a contingent of pro-housing officials and advocates was already teeing up the next big move to address affordable housing: accessory dwelling units. There was an early push in the ForwardDallas rewrite to allow ADUs “by right” as an…

City Hall Roundup: How Dallas Ended Up Paying Half a Million Dollars a Year for Thanks-Giving Square Tunnels

By April Towery / October 6, 2024 /

Dallas Councilman Chad West is still following the money to find out why taxpayers are funding a truck terminal and pedestrian tunnels at Thanks-Giving Square.  In an early September City Council meeting, West brought the subject up and received support from colleagues to remove an annual expenditure of about half a million dollars, tucking those…

Exclusive: Ex-Chief Building Inspector Andrew Espinoza on Permit Backlogs, ‘Lemon on Stemmons’

By April Towery / October 3, 2024 /

Where is Andrew Espinoza now, a few months after his untimely departure as the Dallas chief building inspector? Well, he’s still in Dallas and he’s still faithfully reading CandysDirt.com.  We caught up with Espinoza earlier this week and learned what led up to his abrupt exit from City Hall. In our exclusive interview, the former…