community

Based on notes by Dallas Documenter Bridget Willis Smith  The […]

Dallas ISD and City of Dallas officials broke ground on the new Career Institute West, which will provide industry certification programs for high school students to enter the workforce after graduation.

Dallas Police Chief Daniel Comeaux introduced himself to the Community […]

As the City of Dallas’ priorities shift, staff are proposing […]

Trinity Groves has submitted plans to the City of Dallas Urban Design Peer Review Panel, which raises concerns about community engagement, understanding the history of West Dallas, and integrating the strong art community, culture, and history of the area.

This content originally was a newsletter Dallas Free Press emailed […]

For more than 50 years, the Park South YMCA has served South Dallas neighbors of all ages through exercise classes, childcare and community events. As part of YMCA of Metropolitan Dallas’ efforts to improve facilities, the Park South building is undergoing a major $15 million renovation, expected to be completed in early 2025.

Data presented at this month’s Dallas Area Partnership to End […]

The community is excited about the new amenities and upgrades to their Park South YMCA, but permit delays leave them without their Y until the end of 2024 or early 2025.

The new cloud kitchen at 2839 S. Ervay is the final piece in Cornerstone Baptist Church’s development project at The Crossing. Pastor Chris Simmons says this space gives local entrepreneurs the opportunity to expand their business and create affordable and livable wages in the neighborhood.

La Bajada Neighborhood Community Association and neighbors are trying to appeal the quasi-judicial board's decision at the county or district court level, and have until Monday, Aug. 28, according to West Dallas City Councilmember Omar Narvaez’ office.

Chavela, a lifelong resident of West Dallas, left a lasting legacy of selfless service to her neighborhood.

Dr. L.G. Pinkston High School and West Dallas Middle School welcome new principals, Tameca Ward and Laura Guzman. Dallas Free Press sat down for conversations with Ward and Guzman to learn more about their vision for the 2023-24 school year. 

La Bajada residents have expressed frustration that the height and size of several new homes in their neighborhood are incompatible, but the La Bajada NSO is not being honored by the city and outside developers.

Property tax consultant Toby Toler worked with more than 100 people over DCAD’s four-week protest period in April and May. He feels like the majority of the people he helped in Southern Dallas were able to successfully challenge their property values and lower their taxes.

Here is a list of Back to School events happening in your community that will have backpack and school supplies giveaways, health and family resources and other services for students.

Dallas ISD is requiring all students, including preschoolers as young as 3-year-olds, to carry a clear backpack as part of the district’s “ongoing effort to ensure safer schools.”

H-E-B’s press release announced the new stores would be Joe V’s Smart Shop, which offers “a price-conscious shopping experience.” Both will be located in southern Dallas; the first store opening next summer at the corner of West Wheatland Road and Highway 67, and a second store opening in 2025 at the corner of Buckner and Samuell boulevards.

“Fair Park has a lot of historical significance,” Moore says as he describes the panoramic painting in the courtyard of the South Dallas Cultural Center.  He chose to paint a chronological display of Fair Park’s role in promoting the understanding and awareness of Juneteenth.

The Kathlyn Joy Gilliam Museum recently reopened on Wendelkin Street in South Dallas. Honoring the legacy of Mrs. Kathlyn Joy Gilliam, the museum showcases the civil rights leader’s life story featuring original furnishings, photos, and artifacts in the home she lived in for 35 years.

Gipson Grocery store converted into a one-stop shop with many services aimed to strengthen its community members.

Ferrell Fellows' business model is simple: She buys off-market properties in South Dallas in need of serious repairs then renovates these homes, preserving character and history. They become residences for first-time homebuyers, long-term rentals for people not ready to take that leap, and shared housing for people she comes across in her community work, everyone from single parents to immigrants to prostitutes.

Fellows believes everyone deserves a dignified way to live.

Janie Cisneros credits her neighborhood-based activism to serendipity. She is the leader of Singleton United/Unidos, a newly established neighborhood association in West Dallas, fighting for clean air and the removal of the long-standing roofing shingles plant, GAF, from her residential neighborhood.

Highland Hills fresh foods grocery store, Save-U-More, struggles to stay open and widen the food desert gaps happening in South Dallas.

After listening to residents in early 2020, the City of Dallas planned to add colorful murals, artificial turf, family grills, playground equipment and more athletic fields to the park in the Los Altos neighborhood, located just south of Anita Martinez Recreation Center and Lorenzo de Zavala Elementary School.

A neighborhood-led plan "will be used to shape the future of West Dallas for the next 10 to 20 years,” and act to "slow down the fast-paced gentrification that is running a risk of literally changing the thread of our community and wiping away the history," says James Armstrong III.