For many years, even before I became a pastor, Sunday was always a very special day. I lived in a rural community in Pennsylvania where they had what they called the “Blue Laws.” No business was open on a Sunday, but churches were full.

In those days, Sunday was focused on church, gathering as a congregation, and worshiping the Lord.

Then came Monday.

Monday is the beginning of a new week. That means I need to get everything in order and get ready to do what needs to be done for the week.

Recently, The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage came to my office on Monday and said, “Are you ready for the week?” Then she walked away laughing, knowing that Monday was my most difficult day of the rest of the week.

After the best day of the week comes this day, which is very difficult for me.

I looked at my calendar and couldn’t believe I had so much work, which made me realize how Mondays can leave me feeling overwhelmed and questioning the simplicity of my retirement.

For me, Monday is hard to get started. After a wonderful weekend, I now have to get back in the saddle again and get into my routine. I guess as you get older, it’s hard to get back in your routine after taking a day or two off.

As I was pouring coffee into my cup, she said, “Well, at least you got something done today,” Then burst into laughter, making me realize even my coffee breaks are a comedy show, at least for her.

I slowly walked back to my office and got seated behind my desk. As I took a sip of coffee, I thought of all the stuff I needed to do this week. Why is it that on Monday, you have to start the week all over again?

A thought jingled in my mind at this time. What if I don’t do anything today? After all, I am retired, so I do have charge of my time.
I leaned back in my chair and thought about what I could do today if I weren’t working in my office. For the life of me, I couldn’t think of anything to do. Looking at my desk, I saw everything I needed to do this week.

Even if I take Monday off, I still have to do the work that is needed for the week. That means my Tuesday is crammed with catch-up work. The only catch-up I like is on my hamburger.

I took a deep sigh, leaned back in my chair, and said to myself, “Self, you gotta get to work and Get’er done.”

I can’t remember the time I really listened to myself. I’m not sure today is going to be that time.

After some deep thought, I decided to get started. I looked through my desk to make sure I had a list of everything I needed to do this week. As I piled that list on the desk, I was amazed at all the work I had to do.

Looking at it, I couldn’t help but think of how much work I was doing during the week.

Just as I was putting it all together, The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage came to the office. She said, “You do know that you have a doctor’s appointment on Thursday.”

Of course, I didn’t, and that changed everything I was working on today. All those doctor appointments eat up a lot of my week. I personally don’t like going to the dermatologist because they always get under my skin.

Now I needed to reshuffle my week to fit in my doctor’s visit, proving that Monday’s chaos is as unpredictable as a sitcom plot twist.
Before The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage left, I asked an important question, “I don’t have any more doctors appointments this week do I?” She replied in the negative, which was a great relief to me.

Throughout the years, I have learned that my Monday determines my schedule for the entire week. If I screw up on Monday, I’m going to have a bad week for sure. And I know that from personal experience.

If I get Monday’s work done today, the rest of the week will be more doable. The harder I work on Monday, the easier the rest of the week will be. If I slack on Monday, I’ll have a terrible week ahead of me.

As much as I enjoy Sunday, I don’t enjoy Monday. But I do know that my Monday will prepare me for the Sunday that’s ahead. I’ll get to work, no matter how long it takes, and finish Monday as best I can.

Nothing is more satisfying than finishing the week on a positive note. That’s my goal, and I’m getting close.

Thinking on this, I was reminded of what the Apostle Paul said. “See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, Redeeming the time, because the days are evil” (Ephesians 5:15-16).

I must confess that I often procrastinate. Every time I do, it costs me and makes me look like a fool. Paul encourages us to “redeem the time.”

Solomon understood this when he wrote, “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven” (Ecclesiastes 3:1).

This is my challenge every Monday as I start a new week.

Dr. James L. Snyder lives in Ocala, FL with the Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage. Telephone 1-352-216-3025, e-mail jamessnyder51@gmail.com, website https://www.jamessnyderministries.com.

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This multi-generational experience will bring together pastors, church leaders, adults, children, youth, young adults, musicians, and worship leaders from across the country for four days of biblical instruction, worship, leadership development, fellowship, and spiritual growth.

Congress for Adults

The Congress of Christian Education & Discipleship serves as NBCA’s premier educational and discipleship gathering for adults, offering a variety of classes, assemblies, worship services, and leadership development opportunities designed to strengthen churches and equip believers for effective ministry.

EMERGE for Children, Youth & Young Adults

EMERGE invests in the next generation of Christian leaders and provides a dynamic and engaging experience for children, youth, and young adults. Participants will enjoy worship experiences, Bible activities, competitions, workshops, social events, meaningful conversations and age-specific learning opportunities.

Hattie Wade Academy

The Hattie Wade Academy of Music & Worship Arts cultivates excellence in music and worship arts by providing specialized training for musicians, worship leaders, singers, and music ministry participants. Throughout the week, attendees will participate in rehearsals, instructional sessions, and worship arts training designed to strengthen worship ministry, musical leadership, and service through the arts.

Preaching throughout the Congress General Assemblies will be respected pastor and preacher Rev. Clifford L. Mayes, Pastor of Olivet Missionary Baptist Church in Florissant, Missouri. Known for his biblical insight and dynamic preaching, Rev. Mayes has been used by God to inspire and strengthen believers across the country. Additionally, Dr. Samuel C. Tolbert, Jr., President of NBCA from Lake Charles, Louisiana will also address the Convention throughout the week on important Convention business.

One of the highlights of the week will be the Hattie Wade Academy Closing Concert on Wednesday evening, July 1, featuring nationally recognized gospel recording artist Sis. Kathy Taylor. This free concert is open to the public and will showcase the singing gifts of academy participants and celebrate the rich legacy of music and worship within the church.

“Congress, EMERGE, and the Hattie Wade Academy represents our commitment to equipping believers of every age for effective Christian living, leadership, and service,” said Dr. Samuel C. Tolbert, Jr., President of the National Baptist Convention of America International, Inc. “As we gather in Birmingham, we look forward to a week of learning, worship, fellowship, and spiritual renewal. Our prayer is that every participant returns home inspired and equipped to advance the Gospel and make an even greater impact in their congregations, communities, and beyond.”

For more information, please visit www.nbcainc.com or call 1-800-543-4019.

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Through this partnership, Thrivent will provide a virtual, faith-based financial education curriculum to COGIC members and provide charitable giving support, including matched giving and a future endowment, to strengthen stewardship across the denomination.

“At the Church Of God In Christ, we believe spiritual, physical and financial wholeness is the inheritance of every believer,” said Presiding Bishop J. Drew Sheard, Church Of God In Christ. “Financial education and economic empowerment have been missing chapters in the story of too many of our families and congregations, so this partnership is a decisive and meaningful step toward changing that narrative. Alongside Thrivent, we will equip our 12,000-plus churches and our adherents with the knowledge, tools, and resources to make informed financial decisions today and for generations to come.”

“This partnership reflects Thrivent’s longstanding belief that everyone deserves a financial plan and is a meaningful example of why Thrivent exists – to empower lives of service and faith,” said Thrivent’s Chief Growth and Generosity Officer Carolyn Sakstrup. “COGIC shares our commitment to purpose, faith, stewardship and service to others. By elevating our work together, Thrivent can deliver financial education and resources through a trusted, nationwide church network with deep community roots. Together, we will help church leaders and families plan stronger financial futures for generations.”

A collaboration built on shared values

The partnership is designed to make financial well‑being as integral to church life as worship, service and fellowship, and includes:

• Thrivent will offer COGIC leaders a co-created virtual, faith-based financial education curriculum that will focus on the importance of stewardship and personal retirement planning. It also will tackle financial topics such as debt, saving and spending to help build a financial foundation that helps participants invest for the future and leaves a legacy. Church leaders will see the curriculum first before it expands to congregants in 2027.

• Thrivent will share financial education and purpose-based advice at COGIC conferences from the mainstage, through workshops and within one-on-one consultations.

• Thrivent will support COGIC’s charitable efforts and match the denomination’s donations up to $65,000 annually. Additionally, Thrivent will work with COGIC to create a future endowment fund to amplify generosity.

Removing barriers to financial well-being

COGIC recognizes the profound responsibility it holds to equip its members with the knowledge necessary to make informed, forward-looking financial decisions, especially for those who have historically faced systemic barriers to financial access and advancement. Through this partnership, Thrivent’s offerings of purpose-based advice, investments, insurance, and generosity programs will be provided to COGIC’s vast network of pastors, clergy, church administrators, and lay members. It will bring expanded access to financial education resources across communities that stand to benefit from them most.

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Good old Dad.

He’s there for you every day, playing with you, tucking you into bed, teaching you to do fun things, helping you. He and Grandpa, they’re the greatest – and this month, it’s time to read books about the Dads and Father-figures in your life…

Who’s your best buddy? You’d probably say that your Papa is, and in “Dear Dad,” illustrated by Natalie Lundeen (Flamingo Books, $9.99), you’ll read a love letter to one youngster’s father, a gator who is the little guy’s “favorite dude.”

This is a quick, colorful, adorable, fast-to-read story that’s full of love and appreciation for fathers, and it’s not just for preschool kiddoes, ages 3-to-5. If you’re an adult, it would be a heart-felt, tear-jerker of a gift for your Dad or Grandpa, too.

For the child who loves doing things with Pop, then “Haircut Day with Dad” by Monica Mikai (Crown, $18.99) is a book they’ll want.

Yep, it’s time: his hair has grown a little shaggy and a little boy needs a haircut. He and Dad want to look good, so they head to the barber shop to make sure they do. It’s an day well-spent, too, and breakfast is first, because you can’t have a haircut on an empty stomach.

At the barber shop, the usual barbers are working and Dad sees some of his friends. They “settle in and wait” for their turn. Barbers are like magicians, and the boy and his dad feel like kings with capes around their necks. Pretty soon, they’re looking “fly,” which is what you should do: fly out and find this adorable book just for boys ages 5-to-8.

Okay, but what if you don’t have a dad? Or he’s not the dad you want? Then “Just Right” by Torrey Maldonado, illustrated by Teresa Martinez (Nancy Paulsen Books, $18.99) is exactly the book you want.

Toby is sad. He picked out a special pair of socks for his Dad as a gift, but his father kind of ignored him. The socks were just another pair of socks to him, and Ma said that wasn’t right. Neither was a nearby playground that was forever under construction, or the broken glass on his neighborhood’s sidewalks, or the dirt or the noise outside his door.

None of that is right, not at all.

But you know what was right? His mother’s brother, his Uncle, who loves Toby so very obviously, and makes him feel special and exactly, a hundred-percent right.

And that’s what you’ll think about this moving book: it’s what you want for your 4-to-9-year old, especially if there’s no dad or grandfather in the picture this Father’s Day.

If your child wants more books about Dad, Grandpa, Uncle, or any other special man in their life, then head to your favorite library or bookstore and ask for help. The staff there will steer you toward the exact books you want for kids of any age and any situation, for birthday, Father’s Day, or every day of the year.

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(***)

“When you wish upon a star, your dreams will take you very far, yeah.” The lyrics from Earth, Wind & Fire’s Grammy-winning song “Shining Star” couldn’t be more appropriate for the band, this joyous documentary or the festival that hosts it.

As the Tribeca Film Festival marks its 25th anniversary, there are a lot of reasons to celebrate good times. And who could be a better choice to ignite the festivities and a nice-feeling aura than the world’s most happy-go-lucky house band? Oscar®-winning music documentarian Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson (Summer of Soul…) judiciously brings the backstory of the 57-year-old R&B, funk, soul, jazz fusion, pop and Afro-pop group into the spotlight.

Yes, Questlove has assembled a tight tech crew. Editors Matt Cascella, Jessica Miller, Andrew Morrow and Timothy Ziegler piece together concert footage, old interviews, new ones and testimonials that lift the veil. What went on backstage behind the fancy pyrotechnic shows? Who was zooming who? The well-paced film examines bandleader Maurice White’s creativity and his domineering leadership style while following the changing cast of band members whose numbers grew and shrank over time. With his unobtrusive camerawork, cinematographer Emily Topper’s lens never intrudes but is placed where it needs to be.

Some viewers will embrace the bright shiny superstars who give their personal opinions of White, the band and the group’s significance as a cultural phenomenon. After all, they were and are artists who brought all kinds of people together to hear their music and see their performances—all around the world! Getting Barack Obama and Michelle Obama’s opinions is a coup. Adding thoughts by Stevie Wonder, whose famous song “I Wish” was influenced by EW&F’s “Shining Star,” provides a link between greats. Hearing H.E.R., Flea, Booker T. and Lionel Richie’s thoughts on the group’s significance is enlightening too. The testimonials to the band’s originality, musical genius, Afrocentric perspective and staying power are impressive. Albeit pretty standard for music docs.

None of the aforementioned folks need to do a hard sell. The fun music and electric performances do that. As the footage reminds all, it’s hard to not want to turn bedroom lights down low when you hear “After the Love Has Gone.” Everyone jumps out of their seats whenever “September” cranks up. And to this day, anyone who hears the harmony on “Boogie Wonderland” is filled with unbridled joy.

Solid documentaries delve into the good and the bad. This one does that fairly well. It recollects the group founder’s beginnings and ingenuity and also his reckless behavior, gallivanting and superstar complexes. Few may remember or know that White was a drummer for the Grammy-winning Ramsey Lewis Trio. From 1966-1970 White was the percussionist, Cleveland Eaton was on bass and Lewis on piano in one of the band’s many incarnations. That background solidified White’s musicianship, and glimpses of those days reveal that White was surprisingly bashful and intimidated at the idea of standing in front of a mic. What a metamorphosis! From shy guy to brassy, bossy lead singer, futuristic thinker, ethereal soul man, space-age artist and the ultimate showman.

Along the way band members like singer Philip Bailey, younger brother and bassist Verdine White and drummer-turned-singer Ralph Johnson fill in the missing details. The spaces between Grammy wins, worldwide touring, recording and mercurial evolution. Viewers learn the hard, cold facts of artists’ lives in a business that didn’t always treat them fairly. Or pay them well. Broke? Sometimes. Deep in debt? Yes! The band members tell all, and not all of it flatters White or his management skills. Or his husbanding or fathering. It’s the kind of true-story depth you’d read in a Rolling Stone article. But it’s here on film. Sobering, illuminating—yet fun! White: “I wanted to reach a universal audience.” Jimmy Jam: “You’re thinking they’re coming from Africa or outer space.”

Questlove relies heavily on the familiar music-documentary formula of archival footage, celebrity commentary and retrospective interviews. The approach works but rarely surprises. That said, he exhibits a steady hand, pulls together the right artists, footage and moments. Maybe a bit less of the Obamas, who had EW&F perform at their inauguration party, and a bit more from friends and musicians more integral to the group might give this doc more cred and less fluff. For example, legendary clothing designer Bill Whitten, who gave the group its iconic space-age costume look, is barely a footnote. Whitten is deceased, but his influence was major and clothes further established their Afrofuturistic sensibilities. He, like others, deserved more time. Also, wouldn’t it be nice if the name of the film was just “Earth, Wind & Fire,” and didn’t include the unnecessary, tongue-tying hard-to-comprehend subtitle about celestial stuff that just seems irrelevant in a movie title?

This doc treads much of the same territory as Questlove’s Sly Stone bio/doc Sly Lives! (aka the Burden of Black Genius). Similar recollections of pioneering, funk/soul bands with great crossover appeal. That’s an observation, one that is neither pro nor con. Just true. Questlove has become “the” Black music archivist. That’s a blessing and a great responsibility. He’s the chosen one. This is one more precious doc in his ever-expanding library.

In the end, nostalgia and a celebratory feel will envelop all who see and listen. Especially baby boomers and Gen Xers who can mark milestones in their lives by EW&F hits.

A “Shining star comes into view and shines its watchful light on you, yeah.” It also shines on the 25th Tribeca Film Festival.

For more information about the Tribeca Film Festival go to: https://tribecafilm.com

Visit Film Critic Dwight Brown at DwightBrownInk.com.

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The gathering at Verizon’s Irving, Texas, campus celebrated student innovation and underscored a shared commitment to aligning academic discovery with real-world impact.

For UT Dallas President Prabhas V. Moghe, that alignment is central to the University’s future.

“I want UT Dallas to be the anchor institution for North Texas,” Moghe said. “We need to create alliances between companies like Verizon and UT Dallas that allow our best minds to address our community’s strategic needs.”

That philosophy — the convergence between academia and industry — is shaping how UT Dallas approaches external partnerships. In order to extend the University’s impact beyond campus, UT Dallas is building relationships that connect students, faculty and industry around shared challenges.

“The problems of the future will exist at the intersection of disciplines,” Moghe said. “A university like UT Dallas is best positioned to bring together experts and drive forward-thinking solutions.”

The collaboration between UT Dallas and Verizon has grown steadily in recent years as it has benefited research projects, workforce development and experiential learning opportunities.

Verizon has engaged UT Dallas students through mentorship opportunities, recruitment initiatives and hands-on projects. The company participates in career development programs, such as resume reviews, mock interviews and networking events, while helping build a pipeline of graduates prepared for engineering and technology careers. More than 350 UT Dallas alumni work at Verizon, and the company is currently a primary supporter of the University Career Center’s employer partnership program, which improves the job search experience for both students and the company.

Through the UTDesign EPICS (Engineering Projects in Community Service) program, Verizon sponsors student teams that solve practical challenges for nonprofit and charitable organizations, such as improving application efficiency in cloud environments and designing systems and products.

“It’s a great partnership,” said Suzanne Schnaars, associate director of the tech ambassador office at Verizon. “There’s so much potential to engage students and faculty in project work that also advances Verizon’s initiatives.”

Learning Beyond the Classroom

The recent Smart Campus Competition exemplifies this model in action.

Launched at UT Dallas as part of a multiuniversity initiative, Verizon’s Smart Campus Competition challenged students to “reimagine your campus” using the company’s 5G technologies. The competition was coordinated via a collaboration between the UT Dallas Center for Workforce Development and the corporate relations team in the Office of Development and Alumni Relations. More than 150 students formed interdisciplinary teams to develop solutions to real-world problems.

One student team developed a system to optimize emergency communications in crisis zones. Another designed an artificial intelligence-powered platform to streamline clinical documentation for physicians. A third created a high-precision navigation app to improve accessibility in complex environments like airports and hospitals.

“A university provides us with a place for good, solid experimentation,” said Sumit Singh MBA’01, vice president of network planning, engineering and provisioning systems at Verizon. “We bring the problems from industry, and students gain important knowledge about their future careers. They will be much better positioned after these experiences.

“The world is changing so fast. Our jobs are changing, and the workforce of the future will have to be prepared with deep industry knowledge.”

In this environment, technical skills alone are no longer enough.

“Everyone we interview has a good GPA,” Singh said. “The best recruits are differentiated by their engagement with real problems during college. Those students understand how the world operates. Participating in competitions like the Smart Campus Competition really sets students apart from their peers.”

That same principle is shaping Moghe’s long-term vision for ensuring career readiness for UT Dallas students.

“In order for us to reflect the evolving needs of industry in our curriculum, we have to make sure that our students have internships, that they are working on research projects with faculty and with our partners in industry,” he said.

Expanding Innovation in North Texas

Beyond student engagement, the partnership between Verizon and UT Dallas also is driving impactful research.

For example, Dr. Bingzhe Li, assistant professor of computer science, has been working with Verizon on sponsored projects focused on optimizing infrastructure and advancing next-generation technologies. And in the Richardson Innovation Quarter, researchers in UT Dallas’ OpenLab work with Verizon to test, evaluate and develop the next generation of 5G products and services.

For Moghe, these connections are essential not only for the University, but also for the broader community.

“There is an amazing momentum that makes the North Texas region special,” Moghe said. “UT Dallas is part of that, and when we can work together with our partners in industry, we can really drive growth.”

The post Growing Verizon Partnership Builds Pathways to Success at UTD appeared first on North Dallas Gazette.

The event is free and open to the public. Families, residents, local businesses, community partners, and supporters are invited to come together for a meaningful celebration honoring freedom, culture, history, unity, and community connection.

Juneteenth Freedom Fest is designed to be a family-friendly celebration that creates space for education, reflection, joy, and togetherness. The event will highlight the importance of remembering history while also bringing the Rockwall community together in a positive and welcoming environment.

“Juneteenth is more than a date on the calendar. It is a reminder of freedom, resilience, and the importance of community,” said a representative of EmpowerED Outreach. “After working to get this event approved since last year, we are grateful for the opportunity to bring this celebration to Rockwall and create something meaningful for families and residents.”

The event will include opportunities for community engagement, family activities, local participation, and cultural celebration. Organizers are currently seeking sponsors, volunteers, and community partners to help make the event a success.

Some remaining sponsorship are still needed to support event-related expenses, including supplies, setup needs, outreach, activities, and other festival costs. Local businesses, churches, civic groups, and individuals are encouraged to contribute through sponsorships or in-kind donations.

Sponsorship opportunities are available at multiple levels, and in-kind donations are also welcome.

Community members who would like to attend are encouraged to register in advance through Eventbrite.

For more information about Juneteenth Freedom Fest, sponsorship opportunities, participation, or volunteer opportunities, contact EmpowerED Outreach at 430-444-2831 or empowermentproject24@gmail.com.

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“Fatherhood is increasingly recognized as a social influencer of health, but we were surprised to uncover racial differences in health outcomes of fathers, especially in relation to early death,” said lead author John James Parker, MD, pediatrician and researcher at Lurie Children’s and Assistant Professor of Pediatrics and Medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. “The potentially protective effect of fatherhood for Black men warrants further study to understand how and why this is the case.”

Men who became fathers when younger than 25 years tended to have worse health trajectory, however. Black men who entered fatherhood early were at higher risk for all-cause mortality at follow-up decades later, whereas White men who had a child while young were more likely to have poor cardiovascular health as they aged.

“Our finding that becoming a father at a young age placed men at risk for worse health in the long-term supports previous research,” said Dr. Parker. “It also highlights an important opportunity to intervene with young fathers, to educate them about behaviors that promote health and offer social supports. Ultimately, we need to raise awareness among young fathers that their health impacts the well-being of the entire family.”

The study included 1,648 men with fatherhood data. Cardiovascular health was measured based on the American Heart Association’s Life’s Essential 8 framework. The metrics consist of four health behaviors (healthy diet, participation in physical activity, avoidance of nicotine and healthy sleep) and four health factors (healthy weight, level of blood lipids, levels of blood glucose, and blood pressure).

In addition to Dr. Parker, authors from Lurie Children’s included Craig F. Garfield, MD, MAPP, and Clarissa D. Simon, PhD, MPH, from the Family & Child Health Innovations Program (FCHIP).

The study was supported by the National Heart, Lung, And Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number K23HL179465.

The post Black Fathers Live Longer Than Nonfathers, Study Finds appeared first on North Dallas Gazette.

While plans to celebrate the nation’s 250th birthday near completion, few Americans are in a celebratory mood. Right now, most families find it increasingly harder to stretch their hard-earned paychecks to keep up with the still-rising costs of everyday living.

A year ago, a regular gallon of gas purchased in Dallas averaged $2.72. Last week, that same gallon cost $4.42. Mid-octane, premium and diesel prices per gallon last week ranged from a low of $4.46 to a high of $5.09, according to AAA.

Add in higher costs for other essential expenses like housing, groceries, and utilities – these preoccupations take all the time and ingenuity households can muster.

Things like land use, city planning, and bond ratings usually don’t hold much allure.

After all, elected and appointed officials are entrusted to fulfill the kinds of collective concerns that span and serve individuals, families and neighborhoods. When families and neighborhoods are strong, so is the city they all call home.

But when actions or inactions betray that public trust, it is the civic duty of all residents, organizations, and businesses to speak out and stand up for our collective futures and benefit. To paraphrase an immortal line from the feature film, It’s a Wonderful Life, “the people who do most of the living and paying and dying have a right to live, work and die in a decent place”.

Right now, the City of Dallas is at a crossroads. Without the benefit of much public participation, plans are underway that all of us will have to live with – for better or worse – unless civic champions emerge and insist that the people have a right to help shape their own futures.
Will Dallas’ aging city hall be renovated or relocated? What are the costs for each option? How can a vital municipal facility remain conveniently located for citizens and businesses alike? And how will either option be financed? How much more in city taxes will businesses and residents pay?

Similarly, will the Dallas Mavericks retain their urban profile? Or will the local National Basketball Association team search for alternative locales to realize its vision of a 50-acre mixed use development? Should the Mavericks move, what will Dallas’ tax loss be? Or conversely, what investment will the city make to keep its city-named team?

On June 03, planning consultants retained by the City of Dallas will present their second report, this time addressing repair options for the aging city hall. Hopefully it will include practical solutions to problems that have lingered too long. An earlier presentation, on May 20, addressed methods and framework.

At that time, city officials priced necessary City Hall repairs to cost a minimum of $60 million. But the municipal budget that began last October allocated only $14.5 million, according to the Dallas Morning News. Further, Chad West, the City Council’s Finance Chair estimated $50-$100 million would be required just for the facility’s deferred maintenance. More recently, this year’s Property Condition Assessment estimated renovation costs between $906 million and $1.4 billion.

Whatever decisions emerge, Dallas’ residents and businesses will both pay the price. How much, and for how long – and most importantly by whom are the questions that should be publicly answered before any final commitments are made, relocations are warranted, or related adjustments to the delivery of city services.

If those elected to lead abdicate their sworn duty, voters must remember who stood up, those who ran for cover, and those whose actions never equaled their words.

For more than 20 years, other metro areas have utilized a planning tool and process known as Community Benefits Agreements (CBAs). Their success in delivering equitable development is due to their transformation of historic adversaries into shared stakeholders.

This paradigm avoided legal logjams, facilitated more economic development, and gave residents the chance to help shape a better future for all. It also spawned a 32-page template developed by the NAACP, that enables communities to adapt unique local interests shaped by genuine public-private partnerships that include local businesses, particularly minority and women owned.

Most importantly, the people who make Dallas their home must have a say in shaping their own futures. As the city grows, so should the economic prosperity of its people. The city and its residents should face the future together and in mutual respect.

Preserving Dallas’ status as a world-class city requires all of us – government, community-based organizations, businesses, clergy and more – to achieve meaningful and lasting growth.

It’s called taking care of home.

PUBLISHER’S NOTE

On Monday, June 1, 2026, the Dallas Mavericks officially announced plans to move to the former Valley View Mall site. Their decision not to pursue the space currently occupied by Dallas City Hall creates a once in a lifetime opportunity for Dallas community leaders, nonprofit organizations, and minority trade groups to take an active role in shaping the site’s future. The North Dallas Gazette strongly urges Dallas elected officials and community leaders to explore a Community Benefits Agreements.

A strong model for a Community Benefits Agreement guidance is the 2018 partnership between Nashville Soccer Club and the community coalition Stand Up Nashville, which helped ensure that development of the club’s MLS stadium delivered direct benefits to Nashville residents. What the community cannot afford is to wait for a self-interested developer or a public official with a hidden agenda to shape the perception and future of this property. Some city officials, including Mayor Eric Johnson have already chosen to abandon the site in favor of a new Dallas City Hall location.

The Maverick’s decision drew strong disappointment from Southern Dallas elected officials, pastors, and community leaders. Council member Maxie Johnson and others publicly urged the team to reconsider, arguing that moving the franchise away from the urban core would weaken the tax base and divert economic development from communities that depend on downtown.

To minority elected officials disappointed that the Mavericks will not move to the City Hall site: take heart. Dallas leaders may soon have another opportunity to commit hard-earned public tax dollars to the team in pursuit of a third arena – one championship in forty six years since the franchise inception in Dallas in 1980.

For Minority Dallas residents and community leaders, now is the time to secure a place in the decision-making process and not be excluded from early stages of this soon-to-be development project.

The post Time for All of Dallas to Shape the Future Together: Community Benefit Agreement Should Lead the Way appeared first on North Dallas Gazette.

Last year, “Tavis Smiley” ranked #16. Since then, the show has expanded its national syndication onto almost 50 radio stations across the United States, including the country’s three largest radio markets.

“I’m honored to rank among the top 15 talk show hosts nationally and to be first among Black talk show hosts, according to TALKERS magazine, the talk radio industry’s bible,” said Tavis Smiley, owner of SmileyAudioMedia, Inc., and talk show host at his flagship Los Angeles radio station, KBLA Talk 1580.

“Our nationally syndicated show’s unapologetically progressive, insightful conversations with thought leaders, opinion makers, celebrities, authors, and artists, plus socially conscious commentary that challenges listeners to re-examine their assumptions, fill a large need among radio listeners.”

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Now in its fifth year, the Health Foundation of South Florida’s signature annual convening continues to build on years of community dialogue, partnership and action focused on addressing the most pressing issues affecting Black communities across the region.

What began as a regional gathering has evolved into a catalyst for systemic change that elevates community-informed solutions, strengthens cross-sector partnerships, and advances progress on the health challenges impacting Black communities across South Florida. Through its Black Health Summit In Action, the Health Foundation has supported community-driven efforts addressing maternal and infant health, Black men’s health, health and housing, and community safety, while amplifying the voices of those most directly impacted.

The 2026 Summit is expected to welcome more than 300 participants across healthcare, public health, community organizations, philanthropy, policy, education, and business for a day of learning and collaboration focused on improving health equity and strengthening trust across South Florida communities.

This year’s keynote speaker is Dr. Roger A. Mitchell, Jr., MD, President of the National Medical Association. A nationally recognized physician, forensic pathologist, leader, and advocate, Dr. Mitchell will discuss national and local factors shaping Black health today, with a focus on rebuilding trust in healthcare systems, improving access to culturally relevant health information and supporting the next generation of healthcare leaders and advocates.

“The Black Health Summit is more than an event, it is a powerful call to action,” said Loreen Chant, President & CEO of the Health Foundation of South Florida. “Each year, we deepen our commitment to the communities we serve, and we are proud to bring together the voices, expertise, and energy needed to drive real, lasting change in South Florida.”

Summit Program Highlights

The Summit will feature a keynote address and four sessions, each exploring a distinct dimension of Black health equity in South Florida:
• From TikTok to Trust: How Social Media is Shaping Black Health — Moderated by Calvin Hughes, Emmy Award-Winning Anchor at WPLG Local 10 Miami. The panel will explore how social media and digital storytelling are reshaping health communication, expanding access to information and helping rebuild trust between healthcare systems and Black communities.

• Informed and Engaged: Reimagining the Future of Healthcare — A fireside chat where panelists will discuss the importance of patient engagement, community partnership, and building healthcare systems that foster trust, transparency and better long-term outcomes.

• Lessons from the Field: Advancing Black Health Equity in South Florida — Moderated by Janisse Schoepp, PhD., MPH, Chief Strategy Officer at the Health Foundation of South Florida, this session spotlights the ongoing impact of the Health Foundation’s Black Health Summit in Action and the community partnerships driving change across South Florida.

• Beyond the Clinic: Sport, Mentoring, Music, and Economic Empowerment as a Black Youth Health Strategy — Moderated by Matthew Anderson, Executive Director of Mosaic Miami. The conversation will explore how sports, music, mentoring and economic opportunity can support youth well-being and create healthier outcomes for Black children and adolescents.

Attendance is free, but guests must register in advance at: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/black-health-summit-2026-tickets-1979229538830.

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African rulers began selling other Africans. Though they did not sell neighbors or brethren, they did imprison foreigners, debtors, and prisoners of war, to be sold through a system of barter and trade, Cambridge University Press reported.

Prices were assigned to millions of lives, set by kings, chiefs, and merchants, establishing the practice of valuing humans as commodities. Lacking a common currency with the European countries that purchased them, African people were traded for guns, ammunition, fabric, and other goods, the Odyssey Traveller noted.

African-born writer and abolitionist, Olaudah Equiano, recalled European ships hovering along the Nigerian shoreline, ominously waiting to load their cargo.

“This filled me with astonishment, which was soon converted into terror when I was carried on board… I was now persuaded that I had gotten into a world of bad spirits, and that they were going to kill me.”

From 1501 to 1867, over 12 million Africans were loaded onto these ships, mainly headed for the Americas and the Caribbean, The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History reported.

People were so crowded onto the ships, the unsanitary, suffocating conditions led to sickness and death. Equiano noted that the closeness of the space and the heat of the climate left each person with scarcely room to turn, creating an unbearable stench that carried off many.

As a form of resistance, some refused to eat. Dr. Alexander Falconbridge, a slave ship surgeon who later became a leading British abolitionist, witnessed the violent enforcement mechanisms used to counter these hunger strikes.

“Upon these occasions, I have seen coals of fire, glowing hot, put upon a shovel and placed so near their faces as to scorch them, in order to compel them to open their mouths… If this and other means do not succeed, they are forced open by an instrument of iron.”

These people were treated as merchandise, not as people, and after acclimating to the Americas and acquiring new skills, the people only accrued in value.

In the cash-scarce colonies, humans were purchased in artful ways, using English pounds, Spanish silver dollars, and local paper currencies. When cash was unavailable, plantation owners even signed over future crops or issued bills of exchange to gain whatever commodities were needed to increase profit margins, noted NCpedia.

The enslaved were branded on the breast or shoulder. Yet, they would always be marked as slaves by skin color. Those who got free were automatically considered runaways, Without official freedom papers, they faced immediate arrest—though historical records show many individuals with legitimate documentation were fraudulent resold into labor regardless.

More than 4 million people remained trapped in chattel slavery until 1777, when Northern states began outlawing the practice. Decades later, during the Civil War, the federal Confiscation Acts of 1861 and 1862 declared that any enslaved person forced to aid the Confederate war effort who escaped to Union lines would be permanently free.

The Emancipation Proclamation, issued in 1863 by President Abraham Lincoln, legally freed more than 3 million people held in Confederate territories. However, actually securing that liberty required the physical presence of Union troops to force enslavers to relinquish control. As the Union Army advanced southward, thousands of people were liberated each day.

Because Texas was isolated from the main theater of fighting, the state became a safe haven for thousands of slave owners fleeing Mississippi, Louisiana, and Virginia. These enslavers brought an estimated 150,000 captive people to the region, specifically aiming to keep them from hearing rumors of their freedom.

While Texas authorities had learned of the Emancipation Proclamation via official postings, newspapers, and telegraph lines, they deliberately hid the information from the public to squeeze out several more profitable cotton harvests. Even when some enslaved people became aware of the order, many were forced to keep working out of confusion or fear of violent retaliation.

On June 19, 1865, Union Gen. Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas, and issued a public order from a balcony declaring all remaining slaves in the state free. With the Union Army finally present to enforce the decree, massive street celebrations broke out, establishing the lasting cultural tradition of Juneteenth.

A century later, the federal Civil Rights Act made racial discrimination and segregation illegal, followed by the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which banned the discriminatory voting practices long used to suppress Black voters.

But, two recent Supreme Court decisions have effectively rolled back parts of that landmark 1965 law: Shelby County v. Holder in 2013 and Louisiana v. Callais this past April. According to a report by the League of Women Voters, these rulings gutted the vital federal legal mechanisms that protect voters from racially discriminatory voting laws and gerrymandered district maps.

The recent changes are reflective of the past. Just as it took the physical presence of Union troops to secure freedom, today’s rolling back of federal oversight proves that civil rights are never permanently won.

A century after the marches that secured the Voting Rights Act, the legal landscape has changed, yet one truth remains clear. The struggle between federal protections and local suppression continues. This means citizens must continue to fight. The burden of ensuring a fair vote will rest on both local legal challenges and on public participation.

Dallas-Fort Worth hosts multiple Juneteenth celebrations with block parties

Juneteenth 4K Freedom Walk and Festival, Saturday, June 13, 2026, at 9:00 am at 2922 Martin Luther King Junior Blvd, Dallas, TX 75215. It is a free outdoor community festival featuring a 4K walk, live entertainment, informational workshops, and a “Healthy Living Zone” offering free public health screenings.

Canvas of Freedom: Celebrating Juneteenth Through Art, Saturday, June 13, 2026, at 11:00 am at J. Erik Johnson Central Library (1515 Young St, Dallas, TX 75201). A community-centered fine arts exhibition displaying diverse works that reflect unity, equity, resilience, and freedom, designed to promote community connection and dialogue. Free.

Juneteenth Health and Wellness Community Fair on Thursday, June 18, 2026, at 11:00 am at University of North Texas, 7300 University Hills Blvd, Dallas, TX 75241). Hosted by the Double Diamonds Agency, this fair focuses on holistic health for the mind, body, and soul. It includes keynote panels with health experts and authors, food giveaways, prize raffles, and booths connecting families to community resource partners. Free.

A Juneteenth Celebration Concert Friday, June 19, 2026, at 7:00 pm at Wayne Ferguson Plaza (150 W Church St, Lewisville, TX 75057). This is part of the multi-day festival Juneteenth: The Cookout. This outdoor concert features live funk, soul, and blues from The Peterson Brothers, a tribute performance by Elements of Fire (Earth, Wind & Fire tribute), regional step teams, food trucks, and inflatables. Free.

There is the Juneteenth! Liberation in Motion picnic at White Rock Lake June 19, 2:00 pm at the Bath House Cultural Center at 531 E. Lawther Drive, Dallas 75218. It is a free, all-ages lakeside celebration picnic honoring the resilience of the Black community. Features live jazz music, movement, dance, and fashion expressions.

Juneteenth Jazz Jam on Friday, 19 & Saturday, 20 at 9 pm at Clarence Muse Café Theatre. The soulful Martha Burks is back for the twenty-second season performing jazz, down home blues, R&B, Pop, and soul! She’ll salute Juneteenth and rock da’ house as usual!y $15.

Oak Cliff Juneteenth Festival on Saturday, June 20, 2026, at 11:00 am at Halperin Park /Bridge Deck Park over Interstate 35E, Dallas, TX 75203. This is a free, family-friendly neighborhood gathering showcasing a curated farmers market, food trucks, community karaoke, trivia, a kids’ splash zone, and guided historical insights into the surrounding Tenth Street Historic District.

Manifest Your Purpose Juneteenth Market on Saturday, June 20, 2026, from 2:00 PM to 7:00 pm at the Shops at RedBird (3662 W Camp Wisdom Rd, Dallas, TX 75237. It will be a massive, culturally rooted outdoor marketplace highlighting Black entrepreneurship. The event brings together over 50 local small businesses, curated food and cocktails, interactive photo booths, and the live presentation of a small-business grant to a deserving BIPOC founder. Free admission.

The post Juneteenth Still Matters: Freedom, Rights, and the Ongoing Struggle for Justice appeared first on North Dallas Gazette.

The Dallas Cowboys are in the midst of their second and final week of OTAs before mandatory minicamps begin on June 16.

A key takeaway from the early stages of the offseason program has been the excitement around new defensive coordinator Christian Parker and his elaborate defensive system.

“It’s been annoying to prepare against, but obviously to see them in practice every day, it’s kind of unique,” All-Pro wide receiver CeeDee Lamb said of Parker’s defense. “Just seeing different guys communicate, to being able to understand and take what they learn from the meeting room and being able to easily translate it on the field. It’s good to go against, it’s very tricky, but as for our offense, we’ve just got to play faster and get to our spots.”

Parker will arguably have a top-five defensive tackle duo in Quinnen Williams and Kenny Clark to build around—after all, defense starts in the trenches.

Williams and Clark only played seven games together in 2025 and will now have an entire offseason to strengthen their chemistry.

“Just having [Clark] in the room, I’ve benefitted tremendously from it,” Williams said. “Just having a leader like he is, a player that he is, a guy who holds everybody accountable and a guy who does everything right on the field and off the field. He’s a dominant player; he’s been a dominant player for years. I’ve been studying him for years.”

“Just holding each other accountable to be the best we can be. We’re both still learning, both still growing, and both want to be All-Pros and defensive player of the year candidates. So we keep pushing each other, keep holding each other accountable, and just keep trusting our coaches and the coaching staff to turn this thing around, especially on defense.”

With Parker’s successful track record of developing defensive backs, there is optimism that the secondary will take a step forward this season. The additions of Jalen Thompson, P.J. Locke, Cobie Durant and rookies Caleb Downs and Devin Moore are exactly the type of moves that can change the outlook of a defensive back room.

Second-year defensive back Shavon Revel Jr. is participating in his first NFL offseason program and is no longer sporting the knee brace he played with during his rookie season due to a torn ACL he suffered in September of 2024.

“He has a hell of a story,” Parker said. “Football means a lot to him, and he wants to work hard at it, so I think that’s where it starts. He has that built in his mind. Physically, his traits, the height, the speed, the power, he has all of that. So now it’s about just working form the neck up in terms of how the position needs to be played.”

After a dreadful season on the defensive side of the ball, the Cowboys have positioned themselves for much different results this upcoming season. Here’s to hoping the defense can become a force to be reckoned with under Parker’s tutelage.

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Every so often, something happens reminding me of my father, who passed away over 16 years ago. Thinking back, he was the epitome of frugality. If I were to look up in the dictionary the meaning of frugality, I would not be surprised to find my father’s name.

His favorite saying was, “Just pinch a nickel until the buffalo screams.”

When I first heard him say that, I did not understand what he meant.

I try to be frugal and not spend money I do not need to. I got that from good old dad.

Thinking of my father and his frugal attitude, I remembered when he generously picked up the lunch tab, then left a nickel tip for the waitress.

At first, I could not believe it. I thought maybe it was a joke, and I was waiting for the punch line. Unfortunately, it never came. He actually tipped the waitress a nickel. I was tempted to ask him about that, but I figured it was none of my business.

I do not need to have the latest gadget on the market. I do not have to update my cell phone every year to have the latest model. I’ve had my truck for 20 years and I’m not planning to trade it in for a newer model anytime soon. If that old truck gets me to where I need to go, that is all I really need.

Years ago, I had a friend who traded in his car every two years for a brand-new one. I do not know whether he paid the car off before trading it in. He had to have a new car, which made him feel like a big man.

Some relatives of mine, whom I will not name, are very obsessed with having the latest gadget. They like to flaunt it all the time.

I do not interfere in their business. If they do not want to be frugal with their money, that’s their business, not mine. However, I think it is very important for me to be frugal with my spending. After all, I am retired and live on a limited budget.

I’m never going to win that $10 billion lotto because I’m too frugal. I cannot tell you how many phone calls I received claiming I had won $10 million in some lottery. All I have to do is pay $ 1,500 in processing fees.

If my anti-frugal friends are willing to pay a $ 1,500 processing fee out of pocket, that is none of my business. To get that out of my pocket would be more impossible than anything I can think of at the time.

I do not live an extravagant lifestyle by any means. Fortunately, for me, The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage does not live an extravagant lifestyle either. We are not in it for the money, but for the time we can spend together.

If you walk by me sometime and hear a buffalo scream, you will know what I’m doing: pinching a nickel.

Another area where I try to be frugal is with my time. I want to feel in control of my days and use my time meaningfully, avoiding wasting my time, and focus on what truly matters.

As a teenager, I knew how to waste time as well as anybody else. It took me a long time to realize I needed to be frugal with my time and make the most of it.

My parents were snowbirds and spent the winter in Florida. The last time they were in Florida, my father was really in a serious health situation. He had been in a coma for a week or so. Then one day, he woke up as though he had never been sick in his life.

I am so glad I was there when he woke up. When he saw me, he actually got out of bed and sat with me in the living room. The first thing he said was: “Son, I want to go back home to Pennsylvania as soon as possible. Do you think we can do it in the next couple of days?”

I agreed with him, and one of Dad’s friends was there, took me out to the garage and said, “Don’t you know your father is sick and may not live much longer?”

Looking at him, I said, “Friend, I know my father has maybe two days left to live. I do not want the last of my time with him arguing about going back to Pennsylvania. I want to have a good conversation with him because I know this is the last one I’ll have with him.”

The next day, my father passed away, I was so grateful I spent the time I had with him before he passed, and that time was not spent arguing about anything.

I want to be frugal with every aspect of my life, not just my money.

Jesus addressed this subject in Luke 14:28-30.

“For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him, Saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish.”

I have learned that being frugal enables me to finish what I start, which is so satisfying.

Dr. James L. Snyder lives in Ocala, FL with the Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage. Telephone 1-352-216-3025, e-mail jamessnyder51@gmail.com, website www.jamessnyderministries.com.

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In partnership with the City of Frisco, HALL Group, and the Frisco Community Development Corporation, Kaleidoscope Park will undergo a $14 million expansion, adding approximately 1.4 acres to the existing public green space. Construction is expected to begin within the next month, with completion anticipated in 2028. The expansion will introduce a range of new features designed to enhance the park’s role as a vibrant community gathering place.

Planned improvements include additional landscaped areas, an expanded Performance Lawn, a new water feature, and a large outdoor video screen with a performance stage – creating new opportunities for free, high-quality programming and community events.

Since opening, Kaleidoscope Park has quickly become a premier destination for residents, visitors, and businesses across North Texas, offering accessible arts, culture, and wellness experiences in a welcome outdoor setting. This next phase of investment will allow the Park to grow alongside the surrounding district and meet increasing demand for engaging public spaces.

Shawn Jackson, Executive Director of the Kaleidoscope Park Foundation, added, “The response to Kaleidoscope Park has truly exceeded expectations, and this next phase allows us to expand our programming in meaningful ways. We are excited to build on what we’ve started, creating even more opportunities for families, businesses, and visitors to gather, celebrate, and experience something special. This expansion is about more than growth. It is about creating lasting memories for years and generations to come.”

Craig Hall, Founder and CEO of Hall Group, said, “…The expansion of Kaleidoscope Park is integral to this growth. Access to vibrant green space, programming, and outdoor gathering areas during the workday isn’t a secondary amenity, its core to the offering.”

The Park expansion coincides with additional development in the surrounding Hall Park district, including new office and mixed-use projects that will further activate the area and enhance the overall visitor experience. Together, these efforts reflect a shared vision of creating a walkable, amenity-rich destination that integrates green space, culture, and community.

For more information on Kaleidoscope Park, visit https://kaleidoscopepark.org. For more information on Hall Park, visit https://hallpark.com.

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Sticks and stones may break my bones.

You know the rest of that childhood rhyme, and you know it’s not true: words have meaning, and they can cut like a knife. And yet, though sticks and stones and words are weapons, as in the new memoir, “Something We Said” by Elizabeth Stordeur Pryor, they can also hold people together.

The college lecture was supposed to have been about the 1850 Fugitive Slave Act.

It was supposed to have been a lively discourse and discussion but without intention, it quickly veered sideways. When a white student quoted a movie line featuring the “n-word,” the room went quiet and Professor Elizabeth Stordeur Pryor panicked.

She’d grown up hearing that word, and seeing it, and she’d experienced the painful feelings attached to it. She knew who wrote that movie line. It was her father, Richard Pryor.

In her first few years, Pryor spent most of her time in a white world, hearing her mother’s tales of her larger-than-life father, and trying to grasp meaning in her father’s albums, peppered as they were with a word that was off-limits to her.

When she was six, she met her father for the first time. She began to visit him regularly.

It was fun at her Dad’s house; though he was sometimes moody, he taught her to fish and play dominoes. She became close with her siblings, fearful of her great-grandmother, and confused about a word that her father’s uncles threw around like a beach ball. It was a forbidden word at her mother’s house, but her father used it. Differently. Often.

The word hurt. She knew first-hand that it did.

“The word became a degrading slur that shackled all Black people together into a single, inescapable tribe,” she says.

So why was it okay if certain people said it?

Knowing that, in the years since Richard Pryor’s accident and his death from multiple sclerosis, he’s become somewhat of a legend is a very satisfying thing, isn’t it? So is reading about him, especially from the viewpoint of one of his seven children. But his is not the only story you get inside “Something We Said.”

Wrapped around the life of Richard Pryor is the life of a word that straddles a line between danger and provocation, a word that author Elizabeth Stordeur Pryor refuses to say or even print. As she tells readers about her father and her loving-but-difficult relationship with him, she warily circles that word, as if it might bite. You may cringe, but she weighs it carefully, helping readers see it as a chameleon before always bringing us back to her father, his work, and his life before and after her and that word.

It’s a push-pull balance that holds readers fast, and keeps them there. It’s perfect for fans of this genre, or Richard Pryor, or of language – and it’s going to make you think. If you want a good memoir this week, one that may send you to your old album collection, “Something We Said” is rock-solid.

The post NDG Bookshelf: ‘Something We Said’ is Quite a Page-Turner appeared first on North Dallas Gazette.

(***1/2)

“Get the hell out of there!” If audiences don’t say it, they’re thinking it. That’s the mark of a psych-horror thriller that’s done its job. Scare the weak. Rattle the strong. Leave no one behind. This fright fest is a credit to the genre.

A weird doorway materializes in the basement of Cap’n Clark’s Ottoman Empire, a tacky furniture store. “Don’t go in,” said no one. That’s the setup in a very innovative script by Kane Parsons, a YouTube creator. A store owner named Clark (Chiwetel Ejiofor, 12 Years a Slave) takes the bait and enters a catacomb, a maze of pale-yellow hallways and rooms that don’t make sense. Clark asks, “Hello. Is there anyone there?”

His shrink Dr. Mary Kline (Renate Reinsve, Sentimental Value) thinks he’s delusional, but then why wouldn’t she—that’s her job to sniff out issues. Mary says, “Let’s go back to the night Barbara left you.” Something eats at Clark’s soul. Like he’s being called to answer both the inner challenge and the outer one. His curiosity writes a check his ass can’t cash. And so, the horror. He enters another world.

Parsons gamely uses his popular web series Backrooms as the jump-off. The series is set in an alternate dimension of interconnected liminal spaces—abandoned commercial offices lit by fluorescent lights, with tile ceilings, cubbyholes and filled with cryptic imagery and unsettling sounds. Screenwriter Will Soodik (Westworld) aids Parsons in the big screen adaptation, and he knows his way around strange places. They melt the series, which received 216 million views, into a one-hour, 50-minute tightly woven storyline that looks innocent at first. Like a guy down on his luck sees an opportunity to explore and gets caught in the wrong places. Wait. Just you wait. At some point the oddness turns into outright horror seasoned by skewed Inception-like dimensions.

Production designer Danny Vermette, art director Alan Derksen and set decorator Trevor Johnston should take a deep bow. The locations and images they create will creep out the most hardened horror fan. Not with gallons of blood, or torture chambers. But with slanted walls, oddly piled furniture and beings that look like they might have been human. At some point. Then they toss in a body-chomping dinner table scene that will leave audiences flabbergasted. There is plenty of space around the characters, yet the footage feels claustrophobic. The special effects aren’t off the chart but are there when they need to be. While the sound design steadily amplifies the tension, layering droning effects, foreign voices and electronic textures into an atmosphere of mounting dread.

The setting is suburban America in the 1990s. Some footage has a camcorder look, and the scratchy, out-of-focus images are reminiscent of the times and technology. If The Blair Witch Project comes to mind, you’re on the right track, but this film is more artful. Better thought out. Not accidental. Cinematographer Jeremy Cox knows astutely when the point of view should be that of one of the characters or the creepy observers. Editor Greg Ng doesn’t waste anyone’s time. The few pieces of quietness and normalcy are the breaks audiences need from the relentless tension.

Parsons has had lots of practice building this kind of terror. Even at just 20 years old, Parsons excels at sustaining a feeling of constant surveillance and unease. Explanations for the weirdness you’re seeing don’t come until the end of the film. And even then, the explanation is so cryptic it leaves more questions unanswered than answered. Parsons seems to encourage the cast to act as normal as possible. That approach gives the film a cinema verité feel, although you know all of it is fake. Yet you’re still drawn in.

Part of the engagement is the colossal work of Ejiofor, who is British but has an American accent that’s so right. His Clark is dazed, burdened by the guilt of his past and failed marriage.

He’s trying to figure out his present and future. That’s an emotional hook audiences can appreciate. Reinsve as Mary seems to have all the poise a therapist should have on the outside, yet she has her own demons. Another hook that pulls viewers in. Lukita Maxwell as Kat, an employee, and Finn Bennett as Bobby, the videographer, are nice diversions. Those who play the creepy monsters do so without hysterics. They just bite into whoever deserves it.

Expect horror fans of all ages to appreciate this scary movie and to internalize images they won’t forget. Don’t be fooled by the slow, paced beginning. Your heartbeat will quicken in due time. Your blood pressure will rise. Not enough to call the EMS. Just enough to have them on speed dial.

You know, on the TV show The Price is Right, you get to pick between the box or the door. Take the box, dude. If your crazy ass takes the door and the portal to the other world, that’s on you. Because audiences will be screaming at you to turn around and “Get the hell out of there!” Walk away from the threshold. Walk away.

Backrooms takes the time to seduce the audience, then pulls the rug out from under them. Watch out!

Visit Film Critic Dwight Brown at DwightBrownInk.com.

The post Film Review: ‘Backrooms’ Belongs at the Front of Your Watch List appeared first on North Dallas Gazette.

Synopsis: Acclaimed producer, director, and musician Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson tells the story of the legendary nine-time GRAMMY Award-winning band Earth, Wind & Fire, tracing their genesis through late founding member Maurice White, chronicling their evolution, highs and lows, and relevance from the 1970s into the present day while exploring the deep philosophical and spiritual meaning behind their message and music.

Drawing from the band’s rich visual, audio, and written archives, including never-before-seen footage, the film plays like an experiential kaleidoscope of images, colors, and music, transporting viewers to the vibrancy of live performances that have electrified fans past and present.

Through candid interviews with band members, colleagues, family, and high-profile fans, the film traces the childhood that would forge White’s worldview and reflects the singular influence of his music on generations of artists, such as Prince and Stevie Wonder, as well as its resurgence through sampling and collaborations with today’s hip-hop artists.

Exploring the band’s evolution from jazz to soul, R&B, Afro-funk, disco, and beyond, the film details how White strove to weave his spiritual, metaphysical, and astrological passions into the band’s genre-spanning songwriting and increasingly theatrical live shows in an effort to unite a wide and diverse audience. Constantly reinventing and adapting to the changing times, White pushed the limits of creativity and theatricality, occasionally at the expense of personal relationships, but always in service to his elaborate showmanship and the music. Earth, Wind & Fire (To Be Celestial vs. That’s the Weight of the World) is a loving celebration of a complex artist, the enduring legacy of an iconic sound that spans decades, and a joyful tribute to the band’s far-reaching cultural impact.

Featured Participants: Band members Philip Bailey, Verdine White, and Ralph Johnson are joined by musicians, managers, authors, former band members, and family members, as well as notables the band has influenced, including President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama, Stevie Wonder, Lionel Richie, H.E.R., and Flea.

The post HBO Original Documentary ‘Earth, Wind & Fire’ Debuts June 7 appeared first on North Dallas Gazette.

The stage is set for the 2026 NBA Finals, where the New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs will battle for the coveted Larry O’Brien Trophy.
The Spurs are led by Victor Wembanyama and will look to win the franchise’s sixth championship, while Jalen Brunson and the Knicks are riding an 11-game postseason winning streak en route to their first Finals appearance since 1999.

This series will be the epitome of the rest versus rust debate.

“Fatigue could be huge,” a Western Conference executive said. “I do wonder if San Antonio has maxed out its effort to get here and could run out of gas. But I just can’t underestimate [Wembanyama’s] ability to dig into his reserves and summon something when needed.”

The Knicks have played just four games since May 11 after completing the series sweep against the Cleveland Cavaliers on May 25. On the flip side, the Spurs are coming off a grueling seven-game series against the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder that concluded on May 30.

Although New York is well-rested, I believe San Antonio is better positioned to start the series in a much smoother rhythm and flow on both ends of the floor.

With home court advantage in their favor, I have the Spurs jumping out to a 2-0 series lead on their home floor before going back to Madison Square Garden for Game 3.

Wembanyama will continue to be a defensive nightmare for the opposing offense and completely neutralize All-Star Karl-Anthony Towns’ offensive repertoire while disrupting New York’s offense as a whole.

The Spurs also have several perimeter defenders like Stephon Castle, Dylan Harper and Devin Vassell to throw at Brunson and keep him off balance.

In front of a fired-up New York crowd, the Knicks will successfully defend their home floor in Games 3 and 4 to even the series 2-2 before returning to the Lone Star State.

“I’m not sure anyone could be ready for what Game 3 is going to be like at Madison Square Garden,” an East scout said. “That atmosphere will be special.”

In what will be a best of three series heading into Game 5 at Frost Bank Center, I predict De’Aaron Fox will be special and one of the main reasons the Spurs will win Game 5. His veteran leadership and closing ability will be on full display and give San Antonio the edge.

Game 6 back in New York will be a classic. New York is not going to go away easy and will push the game to overtime, but Wembanyama will have a legacy game where he leads the San Antonio Spurs to victory.

As memorable as New York’s postseason journey has been, San Antonio’s combination of defensive prowess and offensive firepower will be too much for the Knicks to handle.

The scariest part about the Spurs winning the championship this season is that their young core is nowhere close to the prime of their careers—setting them up to compete for championships in many years to come.

The post The NBA Final: Who Will Walk Away with the Trophy? appeared first on North Dallas Gazette.

She’s a sweet, happy girl who loves people and brings a little sunshine wherever she goes. She enjoys attention, gentle play, and being close to her humans, whether you’re out having fun or settling in for a cozy break. she’s ready to share her joyful heart with a family of her own.

Borrow a Buddy Facts : “Carley did great in our home and with our kids ages 12 and 15. She loves to give kisses and be the little spoon at bedtime. She loves to walk and does well on the leash. She coexisted well with our dog that was slightly larger than her. She’s a total sweetheart that is looking to make her human happy and receive tons of belly rubs. Shes happy playing with toys and balls in a backyard and sunbathing”

Find Carley and more adoptable pets at https://spca.org.

The post SPCA Pet of the Week – Carley appeared first on North Dallas Gazette.

The award brings The Loop Dallas’ total capital deployment to $86,529,302.37 across the city over the past seven years. Abundant, world-class greenspace is finally within reach for neighbors north, south, east and west. Dallas . . .Connected.

Phase III extends the trail toward Parkdale Lake from two directions, closing the gap between the Lawnview DART Station and the existing Trinity Forest Spine Trail at Samuell Boulevard. Crews will build trail segments running south from Samuell and north from Lawnview, ultimately connecting to a future bridge over the Union Pacific Railroad line at the north end of Parkdale Lake.

This segment caps seven years of intense planning, inter-agency coordination and land acquisition. The Loop Dallas, on behalf of the City of Dallas, secured all right-of-way to accomplish today’s milestone and complete the trail system.

“Years of persistence, partnership and creative problem-solving brought us to this milestone,” said Jeff Ellerman, Chairman of The Loop Dallas. “Phase III was our most complicated segment to advance. Now, with funding and right-of-way fully secured, we have a clear path to finish the Trinity Forest Spine Trail. This creates a continuous connection from White Rock Lake through Southeast Dallas to the Trinity River Audubon Center, allowing us to fully connect Dallas to Dallas.”

“Our public-private partnership model was built precisely to solve infrastructure challenges of this magnitude,” said Philip Haigh, Executive Director of The Loop Dallas. “Securing the donation of the 110-acre Parkdale Lake was an unprecedented feat of civic leadership that began in 2019 when we partnered with Park and Recreation Department Director Willis Winters to approach Oncor. As the largest parkland dedication in Dallas since 1937, the joint effort was the vital key to completing the Trinity Forest Spine Trail. By coordinating with municipal and corporate leaders at Oncor, the acquisition of the former industrial utility site will unlock this entire trail segment. This award officially moves us from a long-term vision to immediate delivery, transforming once-disconnected infrastructure into a unified network”

Oncor donated the 110-acre Parkdale Lake property to the City of Dallas — a critical acquisition that unlocked the entire trail alignment. The pristine natural area will serve as a future public park and a vital connection hub for neighborhoods that historically lacked safe pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure.

”The opening of Parkdale Lake and the expansion of the trail system mark a major milestone for Southeast Dallas and our entire park system,” said John Jenkins, Director of Dallas Park and Recreation. “Phase III strengthens connectivity between neighborhoods, nature, recreation, and transit, helping transform Parkdale Lake into a premier public destination for families and residents across Dallas.”

Despite its massive footprint and stunning natural beauty, Parkdale Lake remains a hidden secret because the public could never safely access it. The Trinity Forest Spine Trail changes everything—opening one of Dallas’ most remarkable natural spaces and linking it directly to surrounding neighborhoods and the broader loop network.

“This project delivers long-overdue investment and connectivity to Southeast Dallas,” said Dallas City Council Member Adam Bazaldua. “The Trinity Forest Spine Trail and Parkdale Lake help close longstanding connectivity gaps by expanding access to nature, transportation, and economic opportunity for neighborhoods that have too often been left disconnected.”

As the longest continuous stretch of the entire 50-mile network, the Trinity Forest Spine Trail creates a crucial nine-mile north-south corridor connecting White Rock Lake directly to the Trinity River Audubon Center.

The Trinity Forest Spine Trail gives residents safe walking and biking access through natural landscapes while connecting neighborhoods that historically lacked trails and green space.

For Southeast Dallas residents, the trail finally delivers safe, direct connections to parks and public transit.

“This investment drives equity and access,” said Dallas County Commissioner Dr. Theresa Daniel. “For decades, these neighborhoods lacked safe pedestrian and bike connections. The Trinity Forest Spine Trail and Parkdale Lake open new doors for recreation, mobility and community connection for generations to come.”

Tucked along White Rock Creek, Parkdale Lake originally served as a 1953 water storage reservoir for the Parkdale Steam Electric Station. Following the plant’s decommissioning, the site evolved into a premier opportunity for parkland development and progressive floodplain management.

The post Dallas’ ‘Next Great Park Jewel’ Unlocked With $16.1M Award appeared first on North Dallas Gazette.

Before Dr. Calvin Jamison came to campus, The University of Texas at Dallas was only a collection of concrete buildings.

There were no reflecting pools. No sweet perfume of magnolias or escape from the searing sun. No residence halls for students to live on campus. No food trucks, and few places to eat.

“It looked like an old corporate headquarters,” Jamison said. “But there was plenty of adjacent land.”

As vice president for facilities and economic development, Jamison ushered in more than $4 billion in construction and development over nearly 19 years at UT Dallas. He retired May 4.

“The best decision I made in my career was to come to a place where I could make a significant difference,” Jamison said. “Working at UT Dallas was a great opportunity and a true highlight of my career.”

Under Jamison, who was a former city manager for Richmond, Virginia, UT Dallas grew from a bundle of brutalist buildings into a campus teeming with trees and life.

Jamison served under four University presidents, and during his tenure, UT Dallas added more than a dozen educational and recreational buildings. Other additions included five residence halls, two apartment buildings, three parking structures, expanded dining options, trees, trails and transportation, such as the Comet Cab, Comet Cruiser and the UT Dallas Station on the Dallas Area Rapid Transit Silver Line. Jamison also led the creation of an off-campus community at Northside, where students can live, eat, shop or experience nightlife.

By Jamison’s count, 75% of campus was renovated or built during his tenure while the student population doubled to more than 30,000.
The University grew so quickly in just under two decades that it wasn’t uncommon for Jamison and other administrators to race from groundbreakings to ribbon cuttings for new buildings — all on the same day.

“I remember one occasion where in about two hours we cut the ribbon on four different facilities,” Jamison said. “We were growing with such energy, such excitement, that it galvanized people around this prideful enthusiasm.”

Jamison credited the positive growth to supportive presidents and the relationship he built with Richardson city leaders and the surrounding community.

“The campus grew, but not without a great town-and-gown relationship between the University and the city of Richardson,” he said. “They were an integral part of that growth.”

“UT Dallas became a powerful economic engine for Richardson and the region,” said Jamison, who added that it will be important to maintain that relationship in the future.

His influence on UT Dallas also surfaced in more subtle gestures, such as picking up trash Jamison encountered while he walked around campus. His motto is: “Service is not what we do. Service is who we are.”

“People want to work in a positive, clean environment,” Jamison said. “My philosophy is: 10% is what happens to you; 90% is how you choose to respond. If you embrace that philosophy, others do as well. You establish that right tone and tenor.”

UT Dallas President Prabhas V. Moghe, who holds the Eugene McDermott Distinguished University Chair of Leadership, said he was moved by Jamison’s kindness when he first arrived at the University.

“He would ask, ‘Is there something I can do to make things better for you?’” Moghe said during Jamison’s April retirement celebration. “Calvin Jamison gave so much of himself, so much of his life, to UT Dallas so we could flourish.”

Before UT Dallas, Jamison’s career crisscrossed city government, higher education and the private sector.

Jamison came to Texas from his home state of Virginia, where he was a senior administrator at Hampton University from 2005 to 2007. He also served in other administrative roles at Virginia Commonwealth University and his alma mater, Virginia Tech, where he worked in recruitment and retention of students, with an emphasis on African American students.

But his influence at UT Dallas was likely forged when Jamison was Richmond city manager, where he oversaw nearly $4.5 billion in new development, a $2 billion budget and 4,500 employees from 1998 to 2005.

Former UT Dallas President Richard C. Benson, who knew Jamison from Virginia Tech, called him a dear friend whose contribution to the campus vision was rivaled only by his generosity.

“All these buildings that we’ve seen pop out of the ground here, that doesn’t happen easily,” he said. “It takes a skilled facilities team to do that, and that is a testament to Calvin.”

Dr. Hasan Pirkul, dean of the Naveen Jindal School of Management and Caruth Chair, said Jamison’s rich skill set gave him the ability to understand what students wanted in a campus.

“I really believe if it was not for him, we would not have made so much progress at UT Dallas,” Pirkul said.

Dr. David E. Daniel, president emeritus of UT Dallas, hired Jamison and relied on his experience to guide the University’s growth.

“Running a university is a lot like running a city,” Daniel said. “But there’s also a visionary aspect: An administrative leader is expected to see the future of the university and prepare for that. Calvin did that seamlessly and superbly.”

When problems arose, Daniel said, Jamison focused on finding solutions — even if it meant going directly to a company leader to resolve an issue.

“He sold people on why The University of Texas at Dallas was so important — why it was worth their while to fix a problem and make it right,” Daniel said. “He caused us to hold our head up high.”

While a comet may be the University’s official mascot, Jamison symbolizes its meteoric development.

“UT Dallas was a passion more than a place where I went to work. It was a place to master my craft, work with a great team of caring professionals and create something unique,” Jamison said. “I’m most appreciative of the opportunity to build something special for the next generation of students, faculty, staff and visitors. And I’m honored that I was part of that legacy.”

The post Leader of UT Dallas’ Meteoric Campus Development Retires appeared first on North Dallas Gazette.

The tournament supports youth leadership development, educational opportunities, and scholarship initiatives while continuing the troop’s legacy of producing Eagle Scouts and future community leaders. Troop 914 has proudly helped develop 61 Eagle Scouts since its founding and remains committed to preparing young people to make ethical and moral choices through the values of the Scout Oath and Scout Law.

“Mission accomplished! Troop 914’s golf tournament has concluded. Thanks to our amazing players, volunteers and sponsors, we raised vital funds for Scouting America Troop 914. We will be back at Cedar Crest next year, same time, continuing our commitment to developing young leaders and strengthening our community,” said Brenda Williams, tournament organizer.

Tournament Chairman Cletus Judge praised the collective effort of the sponsors, golfers, volunteers, and community partners who helped make the event a success.

“This tournament is about much more than golf. It is about investing in young people, building character, creating opportunities, and ensuring that the next generation of leaders has the support and resources they need to succeed. We are grateful to everyone who stood with Troop 914 and helped make a difference,” said Cletus Judge, Chairman of the 2026 Troop 914 Golf Tournament.

Scouting America Troop 914, supported by St. Luke Community UMC and the United Methodist Men, has been serving Dallas-area youth since 1996. Through leadership development, service, mentoring, and outdoor experiences, the troop continues its mission of preparing young people to make ethical and moral choices while building the leaders of tomorrow. Troop 914 has produced 61 Eagle Scouts and continues to positively impact youth and families throughout North Texas.

The post St. Luke Community UMC Troop 914 Golf Tournament Raises Funds for Youth Leadership and Scholarships appeared first on North Dallas Gazette.

A runoff election is required since none of the candidates that ran in single-member district Place 3 garnered a majority of votes as required by the City Charter.

The runoff election for Single-Member Place 3 will include candidates Abdul Khabeer and Kejal Patel.

Early voting will take place June 1-5 (Monday-Friday) from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., June 6 (Saturday) from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., June 7 (Sunday) from noon to 6 p.m., and June 8-9 (Monday and Tuesday) from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Early voting locations in Irving include: Irving Arts Center (3333 N. MacArthur Blvd.); Irving City Hall (825 West Irving Blvd.); and Valley Ranch Branch Library (401 Cimarron Trail).

Election Day is Saturday, June 13 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Election Day vote centers in Irving can be found at DallasCountyVotes.org and are subject to change.

Residents of Dallas County may vote at any Dallas County Vote Center during Early Voting and on Election Day. The entire list is available at DallasCountyVotes.org.

A district map, candidate information and Election Day voting locations are at IrvingTX.gov/Elections. For more information, call the City Secretary’s Office at (972) 721-2493.

The post Runoff Election Set for Single-Member District Place 3 in Irving appeared first on North Dallas Gazette.

The new study, published today in Nature Medicine by researchers at the Food is Medicine Institute at Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University, UMass Chan Medical School, Community Servings, and multiple state healthcare systems, found that Massachusetts Medicaid members who received medically tailored meals had 31% fewer hospitalizations and 20% fewer emergency department visits. Per-person healthcare costs declined by $3,433 while patients were on the meal program (an average of roughly six months), offsetting 98% of the program’s cost.

“As the first state to broadly offer medically tailored meals in Medicaid to Americans with diet-related diseases, Massachusetts provided an important opportunity to evaluate the real-world impact of such a program,” said senior author Dariush Mozaffarian, cardiologist and director of the Food is Medicine Institute. “Our results show that food really is medicine, with major clinical and policy implications for health-insurance coverage of medically tailored meals to impact diet-related diseases and healthcare costs.”

The researchers analyzed data from 2020 to 2023 across 11 healthcare systems in Massachusetts. They compared outcomes for 1,866 people who received meals with similar eligible Medicaid members who did not, carefully accounting for differences such as demographics, health conditions, and prior healthcare use.

All meals were prepared and delivered by Community Servings, a Boston-based nonprofit. Participants received 10 meals per week—a mix of breakfasts, lunches, and dinners—plus snacks. Each participant had an initial consultation with a registered dietitian nutritionist to tailor meals to their medical needs and dietary preferences.

Study participants received meals for periods of time ranging from three to 33 months, with participants typically receiving meals for about six months.

Using Medicaid claims data, the researchers tracked hospitalizations, emergency visits, primary care visits, and overall costs. They also ran multiple statistical checks to confirm their findings, including analyzing data from before the meal program began to ensure that differences between groups were not already present. The results were consistent across all these approaches.

Medically tailored meals were not only associated with better outcomes but also net cost savings for Medicaid, even accounting for the cost of the meals, for people with certain conditions. These included heart disease, chronic kidney disease, diabetes, and depression—highlighting that the program could not only improve health, but also save the state and federal government money. Reductions in hospitalizations and emergency visits occurred within months while participants were receiving meals, indicating relatively rapid effects. The study also found that Medicaid patients receiving meals for longer had the largest improvements in healthcare costs.

Also, importantly, the program did not reduce necessary care, such as primary care visits.

“These findings show that medically tailored meals can be both clinically effective and economically sustainable within Medicaid,” said first author Kurt Hager, an assistant professor of population and quantitative health sciences at UMass Chan.

The authors noted several limitations. Because participants were not randomly assigned to receive meals, any unmeasured differences between those who chose to receive meals and those who did not could have affected the results. In addition, the study reflects a program delivered by an established nonprofit serving people at higher risk due to health and economic factors; outcomes may differ among other meal providers or among healthier patients or patients with greater economic stability.

States across the country are increasingly testing Medicaid programs that address nutrition, and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services have highlighted the important role of nutrition recently. Findings from Massachusetts could guide similar meal programs across the country.

“It’s rare to find anything in medicine that both improves health and saves money,” said Mozaffarian. “It should be a no-brainer to extend similar programs to patients in other states and covered by other health insurance programs, such as Medicare and employer-based insurance.”

Research reported in this article was supported by the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases under award number R01DK134452 and by the Massachusetts Executive Office of Health and Human Services. Complete information on authors, funders, methodology, limitations, and conflicts of interest is available in the published paper. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of their funders.

The post Medically Tailored Meals Produce Better Health and Lower Costs appeared first on North Dallas Gazette.

Andrew Hendifar, MD, professor of Medicine and medical director of the Cancer Clinical Trials Office and the Gastrointestinal Oncology Disease Research Group at Cedars-Sinai, was a principal investigator on the trial and a co-author of the study, which was sponsored by Revolution Medicines, makers of the new drug. He sat down with the Cedars-Sinai Newsroom to talk about the study results.

How does this new drug work?

The medication, called daraxonrasib, is the first drug that targets cancer-causing mutations in pancreas cells.

The drug targets a mutation in the KRAS gene, part of the RAS genetic family. KRAS mutations are present in 92% of pancreatic cancers. KRAS genes normally act as an “on-off” switch for cell growth. Mutated KRAS genes are stuck in the “on” position and send out a signal that causes cells to divide and grow uncontrollably, allowing cancer to form.

Daraxonrasib blocks the KRAS signal by fitting into a keyhole-type spot on the gene. That spot has a complex shape and is difficult to reach within the cell. The drug gets around this problem by using a “passenger protein” as a Trojan horse. When the cell allows this protein in, daraxonrasib tags along.

Why are these clinical trial results so groundbreaking?

There are no targeted treatments approved for pancreas cancer, and we haven’t had any significant progress for a long time. We’ve only come up with different chemotherapy combinations, and those are only moderately effective. This new treatment is staggeringly better than chemotherapy. Usually, when we think of an improvement in pancreatic cancer survival, we think of 25% improvement. This medication actually doubled survival in patients with advanced disease. We have patients who participated in the trial who are still alive, which is unheard of because the five-year survival rate for pancreatic cancer patients is only 13%-14%. If the drug is approved by the FDA, it will most likely become the new standard of care for advanced pancreatic cancer and could replace chemotherapy as a first-line treatment.

What comes next?

We are now testing the drug in patients with earlier-stage pancreatic cancer, prescribing it while their tumors are still operable and before their cancer spreads.

Could daraxonrasib be effective against other cancer types?

RAS mutations are one of the most common cancer-causing genetic mutations, and the drug is now being studied in several cancer types. I think it’s going to work especially well in tumors that are primarily RAS driven, including colon cancer and lung cancer. It might also work in other cancer types in combination with drugs targeting other genetic mutations, but further research is needed.

How will this discovery change cancer science?

This is a win for the field. Until now, we have been focused on immune therapies that might make tumors more vulnerable to the body’s immune system, and on finding new chemotherapy combinations that kill cancer cells.

This new treatment has given us a new focus, and I think it will spur a lot of scientific discovery over the next few years. There have only been a handful of KRAS researchers and their relevance to therapy was always questioned. That is about to change.

The most important next step for the field is to better understand the biology of cancer. We know that many pancreatic tumors will eventually become resistant to daraxonrasib, and we need to understand how this happens. We also need to identify additional genetic pathways and treatments that can target them. That’s how we will turn pancreas cancer from a deadly, deadly cancer into something we can manage—and one day, even cure.

The post Study: New Drug Could Dramatically Increase Pancreatic Cancer Survival appeared first on North Dallas Gazette.

Frederick Douglass once said, “I would unite with anybody to do right and with nobody to do wrong.” Words to live by. That means we will not stay silent when organizations dress up a bad deal as justice and ask Black kids to pay for it.

The fight started with the SCORE Act, a college sports bill meant to bring order to the chaos around NIL, transfers, athlete compensation, and conference rules. It had bipartisan support, including from some members of the Congressional Black Caucus who had voiced support for it, before politics swallowed the conversation. Then came the boycott demand.

The NAACP has urged Black athletes, alumni, and fans to put pressure on Southern schools over the fight on voting rights and redistricting. The CBC then reversed course on SCORE. Not because the basic college sports questions had changed, but because of anger over the Voting Rights Act fight and the silence of college athletics leaders.

Separately, Senators Maria Cantwell and Ted Cruz, along with Senators Eric Schmitt and Chris Coons, just introduced the Protect College Sports Act, which would let conferences pool their media rights under a new federally supervised structure. These are not small asks. They are demands that Black athletes in Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, and Mississippi put their scholarships, their NIL earnings, and their professional futures on the line for a Washington fight that, when you look at the actual numbers, does not deliver what its backers promise. They are being asked to gamble their futures on somebody else’s leverage play.

We will not stand by while that happens.

Nobody should pretend college sports are perfect. The system is messy, and athletes deserve clear rules, real opportunity, and fair treatment. That is why Congress got involved in the first place. But the answer to a messy system is not to hand Washington a giant new lever over the conferences that are actually creating opportunity for Black athletes and families. Black families across the South know what these programs mean.

They have watched sons and daughters earn full scholarships, get access to elite training and medical facilities, national exposure, and for many, a path to a professional career that would not have existed otherwise. The SEC’s revenue model, the one this legislation would pull apart and redistribute through a federal board, is what pays for all of it.

Now here is where it falls apart. The boosters behind the pooling idea have promised a windfall, somewhere between $7 billion and $9 billion in new revenue, depending on whose projection you believe. An analysis commissioned by the SEC and Big Ten says that number is a fantasy. And history backs them up. After the Supreme Court struck down the NCAA’s old game-pooling setup, the conferences tried a pooled arrangement once before, and it produced less money, not more. Schools pulled out, and the whole thing fell apart. So Washington wants to “fix” college sports by taking money from the programs that built the strongest platform Black athletes have ever had, and betting it on a theory no broadcaster has ever paid a premium for.

So who actually benefits? Not the athletes. Not the programs. Not the families in SEC country.

The Congressional Black Caucus wants you to believe it has earned the right to make this call. Its members will tell you they have stood in the gap on voting rights, on criminal justice, on economic equity. We do not have to pretend that record is spotless. The CBC has been wrong before, on crime legislation that devastated Black communities, on trade, on education, on Right to Life. Being right on Democrat politics does not make you right on every bill that comes along. History is full of well-meaning policy that delivered the opposite of what it promised.

The moral framing here is familiar. The policy underneath it is thin.

Douglass did not bow to institutions just because they claimed the mantle of justice. He asked the harder questions, he looked at outcomes, and he refused to let the language of liberation get used to dress up arrangements that served somebody else’s interests. We are asking those same questions now.

When the NAACP calls for a boycott that puts kids’ futures at risk over a media rights dispute, we ask who benefits from that pressure. When the CBC demands that a conference take its side on voting legislation as the price of political goodwill, we ask what that has to do with college athletics. When CBC members who once backed the SCORE Act now treat the same debate as a weapon in a separate political fight, we ask who pays the price. The answer is not Washington. It is Black athletes, Black families, and Southern programs turned into collateral damage in a fight they did not choose.

We will not pretend those questions have comfortable answers.

The Frederick Douglass Freedom Alliance stands with Black athletes in the South, not with the Politics of Washington D.C. that would sacrifice them to score a point. We stand for the scholarships, the programs, and the investments that generations of Black athletes helped build. We will unite with anyone who wants to protect those things. We will not unite with those who want to use them.

The post Should Our Black Scholar Athletes Give Up Their Opportunities? appeared first on North Dallas Gazette.

Two-time Grammy Award-winning singer, songwriter and balladeer, Peabo Bryson – the voice behind the Oscar-winning Disney songs “Beauty and the Beast” and “A Whole New World” – suffered a stroke and after a day in intensive medical care has succombed to the illness. He passed away on Tuesday at the age of 75.

“At this time, the family requests privacy as they navigate this deeply personal moment together. The thoughts, prayers and love of friends and fans are welcomed and deeply appreciated,” added the representative.

An acclaimed American R&B vocalist and songwriter, Peabo Bryson built a successful career through both solo releases and notable collaborations. Early in his journey, he worked alongside Luther Vandross and Cissy Houston on his debut album, Peabo (1976). After joining Capitol Records, he released Reaching for the Sky and Crosswinds in 1978, both of which earned Gold certification.

Bryson continued to expand his audience through collaborative albums, including We’re the Best of Friends with Natalie Cole in 1979 and Born to Love with Roberta Flack in 1983. The latter featured the popular duet “Tonight, I Celebrate My Love,” which became one of his signature recordings.

In 1984, Bryson signed with Elektra Records and achieved major success with “If Ever You’re in My Arms Again,” a chart-topping adult contemporary hit. Throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s, he released several highly successful R&B albums, including Can You Stop the Rain (1991), which reached No. 1 on the Billboard R&B Albums chart.

Bryson also gained international recognition through his contributions to Disney film soundtracks. His duet with Celine Dion, “Beauty and the Beast,” and his collaboration with Regina Belle, “A Whole New World,” became widely celebrated, with the latter reaching No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. Over the course of his career, Bryson earned multiple industry honors, including two Grammy Awards, solidifying his reputation as one of R&B’s most respected performers.

(Editor’s Note: This story was updated on June 2 to include the most recent information.)

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Longtime civil rights lawyer and civic leader Virgil Roberts was recently honored at the African American Board Leadership Institute’s (AABLI) 15th Anniversary Tribute Dinner for his decade-long work focused on helping build a pipeline of Black leaders serving on corporate, nonprofit, and civic boards—roles that shape funding, policy, and opportunity in our communities.

“I’m always honored to be honored, especially by my peers. This was a vision I shared with people around me 15 years ago, and I’m proud that it’s still here and hopeful it remains for another 15 years,” Roberts humbly said.

He also took the moment to acknowledge that none of his achievements or awards mean anything if his team and network are not recognized. “I have mixed feelings about being honored because I feel like people serve best in accomplishing things when there’s no attention on them. The work we have done could not be accomplished if I didn’t have the people around me supporting and nurturing the vision, so I am honored to receive the award, but none of anything I’ve done would have happened without my team playing a pivotal role.”

In 2011, Virgil Roberts and Yvette Chapell-Ingram co-founded the AABLI. With other corporate, nonprofit, and philanthropic executives, they came together to develop a pipeline of qualified African American candidates to serve on nonprofit and for-profit governing boards as well as public commissions. This pipeline has trained 1,100 African American professionals to serve on governing boards through the Board Leadership Program and developed and executed custom training to create lasting change that contributes to employees’ success.

“These kids need support, and that’s why supporting their education is at the top of my list. I am extremely proud to have created the Alliance of College Ready Public Schools, which, after 20 years, helped over 12,000 scholars reach and graduate from college at a 97 percent graduation rate.” Roberts said about his civic work. “People don’t know that kids who drop out of high school have a 93 percent rate of going to prison, while kids who graduate have a rate that drops to 13 percent. Investing in these kids’ education gives them a better chance of living a free life, and that’s not something we can overlook.”

Roberts has a long, decorated history working as a civil rights lawyer, among other occupations, like being the managing partner for the entertainment law firm Bobbitt & Roberts, which has represented such clients as Usher, Kanye West, Chaka Khan, Deathrow Records, Blackground Records, Slip ‘n’ Slide Records, the Ruff Ryders, the J. Walter Thompson Agency, and MTV. He was president and general counsel of Solar Records.

One of the most successful African American-owned record companies in the 80s and 90s. He is also Vice Chairman of Usher’s New Look Foundation and Chairman of AABLI. Roberts also worked pro bono, representing the NAACP from 1978 to 1981 in the Los Angeles school desegregation case, Crawford v. Board of Education.

The post Virgil Roberts appeared first on North Dallas Gazette.

Although city hall’s deferred maintenance costs could go higher than $100 million, a 2026 Property Condition Assessment estimated city hall renovation costs between $906 million and $1.4 billion.

Conversely, if the decision is to relocate Dallas City Hall, what proposed site could equal the current one’s convenience or its 1.8 acre downtown footprint?

NDG Spotlight Video: The Dallas STEM Solution for Tomorrow’s Workforce.

At the same time, the Dallas Mavericks have shared their vision for a 50-acre development that would also become a 365-day a year destination. A May 03 unsigned letter from the Mavericks states in part, “We appreciate the level of engagement the City continues to show and look forward to furthering our discussions to see if downtown could be the home for this project.”

The Maverick letter was one of over 400 submissions that Dallas received – not many for a city of 1.3 million. As reported by the New York Times, Dallas also received 321 plans to repair or restore the existing building, and 85 involved destroying it and erecting something else on the property.

A May 20 presentation by consultants already retained by city officials priced $324.9 million for just project planning and included an accuracy range spanning 20-50 percent.

Even in a big city, the combined sum for all the projected costs to date is a lot of money – public funds that Dallas government leaders have yet to identify how such costs would be underwritten.

North Dallas Gazette strongly encourages nonprofit organizations, the Regional Black Contractors Association, minority trade associations and concerned citizens to contact elected City officials and demand the public have more input in this project before spending $329+ million of taxpayers’ money.

A major public project of this scale demands greater and transparent public participation. Now, before a June 03 follow-up consulting presentation goes even further, city leaders are obliged to tell the public – prior to commitments – how these two dilemmas will bring equitable opportunities for all of Dallas’ 1.3 million residents.

Large scale public projects in other locales have utilized a planning process called Community Benefits Agreements (CBAs). For more than 20 years, CBAs have guided projects as diverse as the LAX airport expansion, Atlanta’s Beltline and new home bases for two Detroit professional athletic teams, the Red Wings hockey team and the Pistons basketball team.

These and other communities utilized CBAs to avoid legal logjams, facilitate more economic development, and give residents the chance to help shape a better future for all. In other words, predictable adversaries worked in concert as shared stakeholders.

CBAs have been so successful to capturing minority participation that the NAACP developed a 32-page Community Benefits Agreement template, designed as a comprehensive guidepost for cities and communities to ensure that large public-private partnerships deliver equitable developments as well as protections for renters, small businesses, Indigenous and Black communities.

“Economic equity is a crucial part of establishing holistic racial equity for Black people,” states the oldest civil rights organization. “It’s not just important that Black people be able to contribute to the economy as workers and consumers, but also as owners with the same access to resources and chance at success as anyone.”

The City of Nashville, commonly known as the nation’s Country Music Capitol, has one of the nation’s strongest and most successful CBAs. It is also an example of how professional sports and cities could work cooperatively for the benefit of all people.

In 2018 Major League Soccer (MLS) selected Nashville for its fourth expansion team. Nashville Soccer Holdings (NSH), worked with a local nonprofit organization, Stand Up Nashville (SUN), that ensured balanced and shared benefits in the negotiation of a historic Community Benefits Agreement located on 10-acres of the city’s 128-acre historic fairgrounds, offering mixed use development, only a few miles from downtown. Most importantly, the first to ever be signed in the state of Tennessee.

A negotiated Community Benefits Agreement (CBA) between Nashville Soccer Holdings and SUN, executed on September 3, 2018, secured key provisions for the project’s centerpiece, a 30,000-seat soccer stadium, is the largest soccer-specific venue in the nation that includes:

• Affordable Housing – 20% of all housing units are set aside for Affordable and

• Workforce Housing.

• Childcare – a 4,000 square foot facility operating on an income-based sliding fee scale

• Employment – targeted hiring, a first-of-its kind program designed to serve individuals with employment barriers, and guaranteed hourly wages

• Minority contractor inclusion

• Workplace Safety – Mandatory safety training for all construction workers supervisors.

• A permanent Community Advisory Committee, comprised of nearby residents and representatives from SUN and NSH, monitors and annually publicly reports progress. Its 2024 report, the most recent available, notes that the project was underwritten with $225 million in revenue bonds to build the stadium, and $50 million in General Obligation bonds for related infrastructure. A 99-year lease for ten acres of public land at the site for a mixed-use development built with private funds.

As stated in the report, “The team is responsible for repaying 100% of the revenue bonds and covering the stadium costs in excess of the revenue bonds… In addition, property taxes generated from the development (none currently) to be available for the city’s general fund with 50% of the property tax amount will be designated for Fairgrounds Nashville capital improvements.”

445 Park Commons, a 335-unit housing development opened with new studio, one-, two-and three-bedroom units. Of these, 120 were identified as Affordable and an additional 40 as Workforce units. As of December 31st, that year, 31% of the set-aside units were leased and in compliance with Fair Housing regulations.

It is time for Dallas to engage residents in a planning process that both envisions and delivers equitable economic development. A local CBA could accomplish that noble goal.

The post Dallas City Hall’s Future Must Embrace Economic Inclusion: Community Benefits Agreements appeared first on North Dallas Gazette.