6 June 15 - 21, 2023 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents them don’t feel like anything is happening.” Nearly everyone on the Public Safety Committee said they had similar issues with random gunfire in their districts. “It is ev- erywhere,” Cara Mendelsohn, District 12 council member, noted. City Council member Tennell Atkins, who represents District 8, conveyed that some resi- dents aren’t sure whether they should call the police to report random gunfire because there are likely higher-priority calls DPD needs to take. Igo said the department encourages resi- dents to make these calls. “Obviously, we don’t want our citizens stepping out and addressing anybody,” Igo said. “But if they do see some- body going out there and randomly shooting a gun, we need that reported. “That is the best way for us to get that in- formation and be able to start working on that location,” Igo said. ▼ IMMIGRATION BUOY, OH BUOY! GREG ABBOTT WANTS A BORDER WALL IN THE RIO GRANDE. BY KELLY DEARMORE F loating a Texas river is a timeless sum- mer rite of passage. Situating yourself in the middle of an inner tube and me- andering along the Comal or Guadalupe riv- ers, even when crowded, is pretty close to being in heaven as far as we’re concerned. We don’t know if Gov. Greg Abbott has ever experienced the sun-kissed bliss of floating the Frio, but last week he announced plans that suggests he has a different idea of what “floating the river” means. During a Capitol ceremony where the governor signed six bills addressing various aspects of border security — a favorite issue of his — Abbott unveiled plans for a new, un- usual method for keeping people from crossing the Rio Grande into Texas. Buoys. In what read more like headlines from The Onion or McSweeney’s, many media outlets, understandably, couldn’t get the word out on Abbott’s new plan quickly enough. Catchy phrases including “deploy buoys,” “inflatable barrier,” and “buoy barrier” dotted headlines across the country from the Texas Tribune, CBS News and the New York Post. The image of Abbott seated next to Maj. Gen.Thomas Suelzer, head of Texas Military Department, with large color renderings of a string of giant, orange globe-shaped buoys propped up on an easel next to them looked more like a shot of a bad Saturday Night Live sketch rehearsal than it did anything official. Also included the artwork, an image of a person struggling to get past the buoys. Not that any of this is terribly funny. “This strategy will proactively prevent il- legal crossings between ports of entry by making it more difficult to cross the Rio Grande and reach the Texas side of the southern border,” noted a press release sum- marizing the signing ceremony and buoy an- nouncement. “The first 1,000 feet of the marine floating barrier will be deployed near Eagle Pass.” The Rio Grande, with its treacherous currents, has long been a deadly barrier to migrants attempting to ford or swim across it. Last September, nine people drowned af- ter being swept away while attempt to cross the river near Eagle Pass. Drownings on the river are almost daily occurrences, Manuel Mello, the Eagle Pass fire chief, told The Guardian newspaper. This latest, aquatic-themed attempt at a border solution comes after Abbott’s Opera- tion Lone Star has racked up billions of dol- lars in spending, including more than $1 billion for a border wall that was less than two miles long in January of this year. In the months leading up to the 2022 elections, Ab- bott and Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, both of- ficials who had been in their positions for multiple terms, ran ads describing how dan- gerous the border had become, albeit under their respective watches. Abbott declared he was signing bills into law that will provide $5.1 billion more to- wards the state’s border security efforts. Bills allowing unmanned aircraft to be used by state military for observing the border (Sen- ate Bill 423) and expanding the powers of the U.S. Border Patrol (Senate Bill 602) are set to become law. And buoys, too. ▼ CANNABIS UP IN SMOKE DENTON CITY COUNCIL DECLINES TO DECRIMINALIZE WEED: ‘ANOTHER MOCKERY OF OUR DEMOCRACY.’ BY SIMONE CARTER T he grassroots movement to decrimi- nalize weed in Denton just got dealt a huge blow. Ahead of the June 6 City Council meet- ing, the group Decriminalize Denton was cautiously optimistic that the council would vote to fully implement Proposition B, an or- dinance that voters passed in November de- criminalizing low-level marijuana offenses. Those hopes would soon evaporate. Denton City Council decided against adopting the measure. Nick Stevens with Decriminalize Denton told the Observer the following morning that he was “ashamed and disappointed” in council member Vicki Byrd, a former police officer who cast the pivotal vote. “She has consistently said that democ- racy is what’s most important, and in the last minute, she turned her back on us — on Denton,” he said. More than 71% of Denton voters ap- proved Prop B in November, yet some offi- cials declined to implement the measure, arguing that it runs counter to state law. It’s a claim rejected by Prop B advocates who’ve pointed to cities like Austin that enjoy near- identical ordinances. The dispute even led to an anti-Prop B in- cumbent City Council member getting re- called and defeated by a challenger in May. Decriminalize Denton’s Deb Armintor, who’s also a former Denton City Council member, issued a scathing condemnation of the council’s decision. “Last night’s vote was infuriating and devastating beyond words — another mock- ery of our democracy, another win for copa- ganda and the War on Drugs,” Armintor said via text. Decriminalize Denton held a rally out- side City Hall ahead of the vote. During the meeting, impassioned speakers urged coun- cil to implement the popular ordinance while others railed against it. Eric Beckwith with the Denton Police Department argued that the enforcement of Prop B — which, in part, prohibits using the smell of weed as cause for search or seizure — would make it harder for officers to do their jobs. “To take a tool away from officers, such as the odor of marijuana, we’re not going to get guns off the streets that don’t belong in the hands of criminals,” he said. “We’re not going to put gang members in jail that are out there committing violent crimes.” Armintor told the Observer before the vote that since Prop B’s passage, police have continued to disproportionately target peo- ple of color over weed. Most marijuana-re- lated incidents in Denton over a roughly three-month period involved Black and brown people, despite the fact that nearly 71% of residents there identify as white. Looking ahead, Decriminalize Denton has vowed to continue fighting. Stevens notes that Prop B is technically still on the books, so local marijuana reform advocates will regroup to decide on next steps. “Ultimately, we’ll have an election in a few months, where apparently now we have to convince people that voting matters,” Ste- vens said. “I think that’s a hard feat to do, where two elections in a row, Proposition B was what brought people to victory, includ- ing Vicki Byrd. “So, I don’t know,” he continued. “Maybe that means Deb or I will run for mayor.” ▼ OPINION WHISTLEBLOWER BLUES KEN PAXTON’S ‘SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT IS OFF’ SAY SOME LEGAL EXPERTS. BY PATRICK WILLIAMS W hile we’re laying in stocks of popcorn and beer in anticipation of watching the Senate trial of impeached, suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton, one question is putting a damper on our excitement for what Brandon Bell/Getty Images Texas Gov. Greg Abbott speaks about an illustration of new border security imple- mentation during a news conference at the Texas State Capitol. Unfair Parl from p4 >> p8
