West Dallas
Texas Rangers win big, but the Ranger’s West Dallas Youth Academy has been celebrating victories for years
The Texas Rangers Youth Academy provides free baseball and softball training and various classes for kids and parents to succeed in school and at home.
Dallas ISD and City of Dallas provide free tampons and pads, but getting them isn’t always easy
A West Dallas student's local effort to access feminine hygiene products at school led the city to do the same for all its residents.
West Dallas groups agree ‘GAF’s gotta go’ but take different tacks on how the polluter should exit
Neighborhood groups are trying negotiation and legal action to get GAF and its pollution out of West Dallas faster — and without leaving a mess.
West Dallas residents don’t trust city plans for their land
At a September Forward Dallas meeting, neighbors voiced anger over the city’s failure to protect the area.
Neighbors discuss housing protections, land use at West Dallas Community Vision Plan meeting
On Oct. 12, West Dallas neighbors met to review policy suggestions for housing and land use for the West Dallas Community Vision Plan.
District 6 residents ask for improvements to fire station, Jaycee-Zaragoza Recreation Center during bond town hall
The latest: District 6 residents prioritized two projects for the 2024 bond: improvements to a community fire station and the Jaycee-Zaragoza Recreation Center. The city’s Office of Bond and Construction Management hosted a town hall meeting last month at the recreation center on the proposed 2024 Capital Bond Program so neighbors could provide input. Why […]
Planned Dallas-Fort Worth high-speed train will cut through West Dallas neighborhood
As NCTCOG moves forward with its Dallas to Fort Worth high-speed rail project, West Dallas neighbors have questions about potential neighborhood impact.
Follow Up: La Bajada neighbors miss appeals deadline, but are still looking for legal help to fight the city
Following the Aug. 15 decision to approve a height variance in La Bajada, residents pursue legal action against the City of Dallas.
La Bajada residents seek legal help after City of Dallas decision eclipses zoning ordinance
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.
West Dallas remembers Isabel “Chavela” Lozada Tavera
Chavela, a lifelong resident of West Dallas, left a lasting legacy of selfless service to her neighborhood.
Meet our new principals: Pinkston’s Tameca Ward and West Dallas Middle School’s Laura Guzman
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.
Civic Explainer: What is a ‘Neighborhood Stabilization Overlay,’ or NSO?
NSO is a Neighborhood Stabilization Overlay, which is a type of zoning district adopted by the City of Dallas in 2005. NSOs can regulate things like how much yard space is allowed on all sides of the home, where the garage is located and whether or not it is attached to the home, as well as the height of homes.
City of Dallas fails to protect character of La Bajada neighborhood
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.
West Dallas’ oldest Black-owned grocery store thrives while others fizzle out in food desert
Gipson Grocery store converted into a one-stop shop with many services aimed to strengthen its community members.
What’s next for GAF: West Dallas 1 picks up where public meetings left off
While GAF has canceled public meetings for the time being, West Dallas 1 is hosting its own public meetings with the goal of informing neighbors and amplifying more residents’ voices.
Did Dallas ISD’s sale of the segregated Fred Douglass School seal Gilbert-Emory’s fate?
It wasn’t until Emmanuel Glover and Sarah Ashitey moved into Gilbert-emory that they learned their new house was in a historical African-American settlement.
Gilbert-Emory neighbors watch their historically Black community vanish, one half-million-dollar townhome at a time
The rapid sweep of gentrification has already wiped away many old homes in the once redlined Gilbert-Emory community.
Rosa Lopez street toppers commemorate her affordable housing legacy in Los Altos
West Dallas residents from Los Altos and community leaders gathered to honor the life and legacy of the late Rosa Lopez — her work in the community to improve the quality of living and empower neighbors.
Fentanyl awareness: Pinkston High School responds to parent concerns after drug scare
Dallas ISD’s Marlene Yepez-Porras and Pinkston parent instructor Anthony McGee told parents the school’s staff is working with the DISD to approve training for teachers and staff on fentanyl awareness. The staff emphasized that parents must also help by speaking with children about the dangers of fentanyl and how to keep an eye out for signs of drug use outside of school.
West Dallas Investments just sold most of its land to a Nebraska-based investor
A Dallas Morning News story by real estate editor Steve Brown notes that the purchase by Nebraska-based investor Goldenrod Cos. is "one of the largest such property transactions in years located so close to downtown" and "signals future development."
West Dallas strong: West Dallas 1 website breaks new ground and hopes to inspire new leadership
“We're setting the agenda on much of what's going on in West Dallas,” Raul Reyes Jr. says. However, his six-year term is coming to an end, and he and Jeffrey Howard don’t want to lose West Dallas 1’s momentum. As they prepare to pass the torch to the next generation, they are hoping the website will build support and awareness of West Dallas 1’s continuing impact.
West Dallas homeowners couldn’t access City funds for home repairs, so the City eliminated the barrier
The Dallas City Council voted last week to forgo the home insurance requirement for homeowners applying to the West Dallas Targeted Rehab Program, a City of Dallas neighborhood revitalization effort designed to provide financial assistance for home repairs. The city had rejected nearly half of program applicants, most of whom lacked home insurance.
A major West Dallas polluter is leaving — but not fast enough for neighbors
Neighbors don’t understand why GAF needs so long to leave and question who will truly benefit from a land upgrade. Once again, they have to defend their vision for their neighborhood.
The City created a home repair program for West Dallas residents, but they’re struggling to qualify
So far, the program has committed roughly $800,000 for about 90 eligible applicants, according to Thor Erickson, area redevelopment manager with the City’s department of housing and neighborhood revitalization. He says the goal was to complete 200 home repair projects and spend the $2 million within an 18-month period. The city didn’t meet its goal, Jackson says, because applicants are finding the city’s requirements to be too strenuous. In order to qualify for the program, West Dallas residents have to meet a laundry list of demands: make less than $77,900, live in the home as their primary residence, have home insurance, have a clear title and be current on their property taxes and mortgage payments.
Pool amenities in West Dallas: Fading ‘entusiasmo,’ but changes are coming
This summer, one of the hottest on record, West Dallas residents went weeks without a community pool to cool them off.
West Dallas community members make history with a street topper in honor of late Rev. Dr. Walter Bookman
The Rev. Dr. Walter Bookman was a pastor at The New Morning Star Baptist Church in West Dallas for more than 40 years until his death in 1995. Now, thanks to efforts by members of Bookman’s congregation, a street topper across from the church will bear his name. Bookman was known for his humanity and […]
Clifford Sherman pays it forward with computers for L.G. Pinkston High School seniors
West Dallas’ Ledbetter school on Gentry Drive was where Clifford Sherman began his education as a first-grader, and it’s where he gave this interview — though the school is now Voice of Hope Ministries’ center. He moved from one segregated school to another in third grade, and finished his education at L.G. Pinkston High School […]
When the pandemic forced mental health care to go virtual, it revealed an antidote to stigmas in Latino communities
"We were meeting them in their homes, and we started seeing more people because they knew they wouldn’t have to come in," says Brother Bill's Helping Hand clinic director Ivan Esquivel, on the upsurge in mental health visits.
A soccer field in the community, but not for the community
The soccer field sits in the middle of the Los Altos neighborhood’s Benito Juarez Parque de Heroes. Since 2012, when the City of Dallas built a fence around the field, it has gone mostly unused, except for the weekends when teams pay the city as much as $61 an hour to use the field for practice or games.
‘I’ve never seen any dirt go up 1400% in five years’
The land value of dozens of 7,000-square-foot parcels in Los Altos — just north of Singleton, up and down Borger, Crossman and Winnetka — all jumped from $65,000 to $168,000 this year. Several efforts are being made to educate West Dallas neighbors on how to protest property tax appraisals before the May 16 deadline.
Preguntas y respuestas: Qué saber sobre el pasado y el futuro ambiental de West Dallas
Conceptos clave en la lucha de West Dallas por librarse de los contaminadores, incluida la importancia de la zonificación, los permisos y la acción cívica.
What to know about West Dallas’ environmental past and future
Key concepts in West Dallas' fight to get rid of polluters, including the significance of zoning, permits, and civic action.
How West Dallas is leaving a history of environmental racism in the dust
Dallas is considering a new approach to permitting concrete batch plants, thanks to a long history of advocacy coming from West Dallas.
Singleton United/Unidos: The new neighborhood on the block
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.
Q&A with Esther Villarreal
Esther Villarreal, appointee to Dallas' environmental commission and West Dallas resident, reflects on her advocacy and shares her hopes for the health of her community.
West Dallas 400-foot tower: How it started and how it’s going
For more than two years, West Dallas Investments has been trying to win favor from La Bajada neighbors, its board, the West Dallas community, and the City Plan Commission. They've run into opposition from almost every direction, but despite this, the developers have appealed their case to City Council, where it is on the agenda this Wednesday, Dec. 8.
Now open: West Dallas STEM school
This year, though seventh- and eighth-graders are at L.G. Pinkston High School's campus, they’re in a separate school with a unique learning approach — the new West Dallas STEM school.
Changes are coming to Hattie Rankin Moore Park in Los Altos. The City wants West Dallas’ input.
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.
Dallas ISD rolls out free at-home internet access for students
Dallas ISD invested in 40,000 hotspots last school year for families without reliable internet at home, but this year DISD plans to spend $18 million on at-home wired connections for its students.
Los Gallos: A gym from West Dallas where boxing teaches life lessons
The Los Gallos Boxing Club wants to teach their students that with discipline and hard work, any obstacle that life brings can be overcome.
How West Dallas residents are challenging the industries polluting their neighborhood
West Dallas residents have set the stage to challenge GAF’s federal permit renewal and reimagine the Singleton corridor without smog, smells and health anxieties. GAF is North America’s leading roofing manufacturer and one of West Dallas’ leading sources of air pollution. After months of petitions, meetings and teamwork among neighborhoods and nonprofits, West Dallas residents […]
Circuit’s ride-share service gives West Dallas a new option for travel
Circuit, a free ride-share service, is giving West Dallas neighbors an environmentally and financially friendly way to travel short distances.
Summer activities in West Dallas
What can children and teens do in West Dallas this summer? Dallas Free Press created a round-up of summer camps and activities.
‘Why not Pinkston?’
For a school that recently faced academic elimination, the success of reaching the final four in the state, being awarded seven football scholarships in 2021, and having multiple teams in district playoffs gives hope that the best is yet to come.
Goal of neighborhood-led West Dallas plan is ‘teeth,’ accountability
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.
Pollution history tied to plan for West Dallas’ future
From putting pressure on lead smelters in the 1980s to ongoing pushback against roofing manufacturer GAF, environmental justice issues in West Dallas have been community issues.
Pinkston seniors return to campus to prep for graduation
Two in five Dallas ISD seniors are in danger of not graduating, so alumni rolled out the red carpet when Pinkston seniors returned Monday.
Three major updates contribute to Trinity River park
Trinity Park Conservancy leaders say they want to make the park a welcoming place for West Dallas and other communities along the riverbanks.
Mercy Street responds to winter storm suffering in West Dallas
In the middle of February was a horrendous week blanketed in white snow and suffering. West Dallas residents lost power, water and hope.
After the storm: Resources for West Dallas neighbors
Dallas Free Press has compiled a list of resources for West Dallas residents in the aftermath of February's winter storm.
A poisoned West Dallas speaks out against air pollution
GAF is North America’s leading roofing manufacturer, and its federal permit is up for renewal. West Dallas neighbors are seizing the opportunity to fight against GAF’s presence in their neighborhood.
Hours before decision, 139 La Bajada neighbors ask for opposition to West Dallas office tower
For more than a year, Trinity Groves developers West Dallas Investments have worked to gather support from La Bajada neighbors on a zoning change that would allow them to build a 400-foot, 28- to 32-story office tower at the base of the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge, adjacent to the historic West Dallas residential neighborhood. At […]
Does the fate of West Dallas rest on a 400-foot tower next to La Bajada?
On Thursday, the City Plan Commission will consider West Dallas Investments’ request to allow a 400-foot tower on the north side of Singleton, adjacent to La Bajada, with the hope of attracting a Fortune 500 company like Amazon, Google, AT&T or Toyota.
West Dallas neighbors work to make Bernal Drive safe
West Dallas residents have been begging for safer streets, and after decades of no response, the voices of neighbors living near Bernal Drive finally are being heard.
3 free WiFi options for Dallas ISD families
Dallas ISD officials have a three-phase plan to give families free WiFi that could minimize the city’s digital divide.
Free home repairs plus a tax freeze available to hundreds in West Dallas
The $2 million set aside solely for seven census tracts in the 75212 zip code comes from funds City Manager T.C. Broadnax pulled together from former city bond packages.
West Dallas property values on the rise
In 1998 the City of Dallas declared an 89-acre expanse of West Dallas to be an area of "underperforming real estate." They created tax incentives to entice developers, and two decades later, both investors and longtime residents are seeing their property values surge.
How West Dallas parents experienced the vices and virtues of virtual learning
Virtual learning has become the new normal in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Dallas ISD elected to begin the 2020 school year three weeks later on Sept. 8, rather than begin online education on Aug. 17 like other North Texas districts, but DISD students will still have the option to learn virtually, even if […]
West Dallas 1 videos simplify back-to-school safety plans
Dallas ISD’s 41-page Reentry Playbook for Parents is thorough, but West Dallas 1, a grassroots coalition that focuses on education, environment and housing issues in our neighborhood, didn’t want West Dallas families to miss the information they consider most crucial about back-to-school safety measures. They “created informative videos to highlight some of the most notable […]
West Dallas neighbors block Megatel’s plans for hundreds of townhomes, apartments
Neighbors living in Soho Square, told the City of Dallas Plan Commission that problems would only worsen if Megatel's zoning application was approved.
Future West Dallas STEM school finds its first leader
Marion Jackson was named principal this month, more than a year before the school is expected to open.
Home alone yet connected: Casa Feliz equips seniors to be tech savvy
Sylvia Deleon would arrive at the Wesley-Rankin Community Center in West Dallas at 8 a.m. each weekday, eager to see her friends and begin the morning’s activities.
CVS Minute Clinic opens first COVID-19 testing site in West Dallas
In early June, the CVS at 3030 Sylvan Avenue became the first testing COVID-19 testing site in West Dallas. Testing is done using a drive-through system. Patients stay in their cars while CVS Minute Clinic workers come outside. The test requires patients or someone with them to swab their own nose for a secretion sample. This […]