Masks are still in place in this summary of the Dallas News. A famous auction house is accused of fraud. Texas is one step closer to one of the most restrictive electoral laws in the country. And the city is hosting an online summit.
Here’s what happened in Dallas this week:
Go to Judge Clay
Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins prevailed against Jenkins’ masked mandate in a challenge from Governor Greg Abbott. In an August 24 hearing, the judge said the county would be violated if a mask mandate prevented Jenkins from exercising his authority. Masks are still required in district buildings, schools and companies.
Jenkins graciously said it was not a victory against any person or company, but for “people who live in Dallas County against the virus.”
“We shouldn’t personalize this as ourselves against them. It’s all of us against the virus, not the vaccinated against the unvaccinated or the Democrats against the Republicans,” he said.
Heritage Auctions Games
A gaming enthusiast has accused Dallas-based Heritage Auctions of fraudulent behavior in the sale of video games. In a YouTube video, Karl Jobst highlights conflicts of interest between Wata Games, a game rating agency, and Heritage Auctions, which recently had a number of record sales. “There is a select group of very wealthy, very powerful people who are pulling the strings behind this recent surge in video game prices, and those same people are making money by hand,” says Jobst.
Heritage has sold a number of video games over the past several years, one of which has seen a 6500 percent increase in value / retail price.
The Wata Games website revealed that Heritage Auctions founder Jim Halperin was once listed as a consultant, and Heritage Auctions has been identified as a Wata Games business partner since its inception in 2017.
Neighborhood summit
The City of Dallas Planning & Urban Design will host the ForwardDallas Neighborhood Summit on Saturday, August 28, from 9:30 am to 11:30 am. The summit will be a virtual event for Dallas residents and residents interested in working together to make Dallas a better place. This event will kick off the update of ForwardDallas’ comprehensive land use plan.
The ForwardDallas Plan was approved by the City Council in 2006 to provide the citywide vision for future land development and guidelines for zoning. Dallas has seen significant change and growth since 2006. The Dallas Planning & Urban Design Department will begin a major update of this plan shortly.
Sessions also cover land use and zoning basics; Understand environmental impact; and connection transport plans.
A free registration is required. Visit fdsummit2021.eventbrite.com. To learn more about ForwardDallas’ comprehensive land use plan update, visit bit.ly/planningdallas.
Anti-voter law
Voting Act SB 1 goes through the Texas House, bringing Texas one step closer to one of the nation’s most restrictive voting laws. Yes we do.
SB 1 contains provisions that would make postal voting more difficult, ease the intimidation of voters by encouraging election observers, erect barriers for voters with disabilities, make election workers vulnerable to lawsuits, and eliminate options such as drive-thru and 24-hour options to vote.
According to TexasDemocats.org, Republicans added several restrictive changes to the original bill, bringing the House version of the bill closely into line with the Senate version of the bill to speed up the process.
A delegation from the Texas House Democrats is still in Washington DC lobbying for federal lawmakers to enforce national voting rights.
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