This summary of the news from Dallas contains an update on the city’s major IT data loss; a protest taking place this weekend; the possible creation of a new ethics task force; and happy news about a trail.
This is what happens in Dallas this week:
IT data loss
The IT department of the city of Dallas presented its analysis of the massive data loss scandal when the city lost 20.9 terabytes of data, a total of 8.26 million individual files, at two events in March.
The data leak related to the Dallas Police Department archive files and consisted of archived images, videos, audio files, and case notes.
The report names a city IT person as the cause of the deletions and makes recommendations for changes to prevent them from reoccurring. The full report can be viewed here.
Pro-election protest
Dallas Pro-Choice advocates join a national protest against Texas’s extreme new abortion law on Saturday October 2nd. The Dallas Reproductive Liberation March takes place at 1 p.m. in Main Street Garden Park on Main Street 1902.
The “Heartbeat” law prohibits abortions as early as the sixth week of pregnancy, although women hardly know that they are pregnant at this point.
The US Department of Justice has filed a lawsuit against Texas and the state is already losing business: David Simon, creator of The Wire, said he would not shoot his new HBO series in Dallas-Fort Worth because of the restrictive law.
“I am submitting scripts for an HBO nonfiction miniseries based on events in Texas next month, but I cannot and will not ask female cast / crew to forego civil liberties to film,” said Simon. “What else looks like Dallas / Fort Worth?”
Ethics Task Force
At a high-profile press conference on September 27, Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson unveiled plans for an ethics task force to investigate complaints of fraud, waste, corruption or misconduct. It begins with the creation of an inspector general’s office that would be a point of contact for ethics complaints.
This follows the example of other cities like Houston and Chicago, which have established similar offices.
No longer just filming
The organization formerly known as the Dallas Film Commission is now called The Dallas Film & Creative Industries Office.
The organization, which is part of VisitDallas, will now span Film & Television, Music, Animation and Interactive (including Game Development and Design, Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality), Advertising, Literature and Photography.
The office drew some criticism when it responded in a tweet to producer David Simon who said he would not be filming his new HBO series on DFW. “We need talent / crew / creatives to stay and choose, and not be displaced by inability to make a living,” the tweet reads.
Responses like these were typical, “What you need to do @ DallasCommish is deal with what is happening in your living room instead of asking the rest of us to suffer, pay your rent and watch others suffer . ” it said.
Happy ways
The Circuit Trail Conservancy laid the foundation for the first phase of the Trinity Forest Spine Trail, the first and longest trail to complete “The Loop”. It consists of 11 miles of additional trails that extend from White Rock Lake to the Lawnview DART station, connecting 63 miles of already-built trails.
In the 2017 bond election, voters approved $ 20 million for the project, with $ 13 million from Dallas County and the Texas Department of Transportation, and an additional $ 10 million from private donations.
Townhouse art
A new piece by Dallas artist Niva Parajuli, Chin Chin & Muck Muck, 2021, will be toasted at a reception on October 1 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at 707 Townhomes, a new housing development on 707 West Commerce St. in West Dallas from real estate developer Oaxaca Interests. Parajuli is an MFA candidate at Southern Methodist University and receives the Jones Cell Grant and the Doolin Fund at SMU in 2020.
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