6 September 25 - OctOber 1, 2025 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents from his powerful position and was later in- dicted in Oklahoma, where the crimes alleg- edly occurred. The letter to Hope Fellowship congre- gants obtained by Watchkeep included a list of frequently asked questions that provided more specifics on McKinzie’s resignation. The third question on the list asks, “What does ‘moral failure’ mean?” The answer pro- vided stated, “We recognize that this phrase may feel vague. Out of respect for the pri- vacy of those involved, we will not share specific details. We can say that John [McK- inzie] admitted to sexual sin and to a pattern of consensual behavior that made him unfit to continue in his role as lead pastor.” ▼ CITY HALL PAY UP OR DRY OUT DALLAS CRACKS DOWN ON UNPAID WATER BILLS. BY EMMA RUBY N early one in 10 Dallas households is at risk of their water being shut off, a city memo released on Sept. 19 an- nounced. According to the city, balances 60 days or more past due are at risk of being disconnected and charged late fees, a situa- tion that 8.4% of Dallas Water Utilities cus- tomers currently find themselves in. As it turns out, that’s a significant im- provement from where things stood a year ago. Dallas began enforcing unpaid bills through disconnected services last Septem- ber, after switching over to the DallasGo payment platform. At the time, around 26% of DWU customers were at least 60 days be- hind on their payments, with the average outstanding balance at $127. Over the last year, about 70% of delin- quent customers have paid off their bal- ances. For the 8% of households still behind on bill payments, the city is encouraging customers to set up a payment plan to avoid having their water turned off. “The number of customers with past due balances on their invoices by at least 60 days changes daily,” the city wrote in the memo. “DWU is committed to working with cus- tomers to set up a payment plan to avoid ser- vice interruption.” Bill Paying Woes The fact that 8% of Dallas households are at risk of losing their water access aligns with what financial experts are warning is an un- sustainable financial squeeze on basic ne- cessities. This isn’t just a Dallas issue, either. According to the Brookings Institution, Wa- ter and sewer bills for the typical U.S. house- hold have increased by 24% over the past five years. Alongside water costs, electric bills have increased across North Texas for years. Last summer, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that customers were paying 16% more than the year before to keep the lights on. “It’s hard to make ends meet in some cases for people who have no marginal in- come. Even people of greater affluence are just kind of shocked at what they’re paying,” State Sen. Nathan Johnson told the Observer last year. According to a Pew Research Center sur- vey conducted in May of this year, more than a quarter of U.S. adults reported feeling their economic situation would worsen over the coming year. One in five of those surveyed said they have had trouble paying for their rent or mortgage, daily transportation costs, child care and necessities such as food. A quarter said they cannot completely pay their monthly bills, such as utility or Wi-Fi costs. Lower-income households were twice as likely as middle-income households to re- port those challenges, and families strug- gling to make payments are overwhelmingly Black and Hispanic, the report found. Dallas families feeling the financial squeeze might face additional challenges in the upcoming year. According to the city’s proposed annual budget, which will be voted on this month and go into effect Oct. 1, the average Dallas resident will likely see their water bill go up by 5% (around $4 each month) starting next fiscal year. Fees associ- ated with stormwater and sanitation are ex- pected to increase by another dollar each month. An additional $5 a month may not be a dealbreaker for most Dallas households, and it may not even be that huge of a jump for those struggling to make utility pay- ments. Still, the price hike represents con- sistent, year-over-year increases to the service. In the city’s budget draft, water bills are projected to grow by around 2.8% each year for the next five years. That means by the time 2030 hits, you’ll be spending $10 more each month on water than you do now. Stormwater fees are expected to grow by 6.8 percent in that same period. ▼ POLITICS & EDUCATION FREE SPEECH FOR ME, NOT FOR THEE CHARLIE KIRK’S DEATH SPARKS GOP- LED WITCH HUNT ON TEACHERS. BY ALYSSA FIELDS T he death of Charlie Kirk and the en- suing social media responses to his shooting have triggered a manhunt perpetrated by GOP officials and, most re- cently, the Texas Education Agency. The divisive right-wing figure and ally to President Donald Trump was shot in the neck at a speaking event at Utah Valley Uni- versity on Sept. 10. Instantaneously, social media feeds were flooded with jarring vid- eos of the shooting, as well as hot takes about the controversial figure known for anti-LBGTQ+ rhetoric and disavowing stricter gun laws, among other common conservative beliefs. Many Republican leaders remember Kirk as a “hero” and a model for the Ameri- can ideal of free speech. In the days follow- ing Kirk’s death, conservative lawmakers have condemned critics who posthumously critiqued Kirk, with a hyperconcentration on collegiate educators and campuses. An anonymously run website called Ex- pose Charlie’s Murderers, cataloging people who relished in Kirk’s death on platforms, launched recently , claiming to have re- ceived over 30,000 responses. The website homepage said the responses would soon be filterable by location and job occupation. “This is a permanent and continuously- updating archive of Radical activists calling for violence,” read the front page. The website currently leads to an error page. Others have joined in the efforts to index who is saying what, placing an extra-strong magnifying glass on teachers. Citizen efforts to hunt down Kirk critics have been joined by the Texas Education Agency (TEA), which announced an official investigation into educators’ social media behaviors. “TEA has been made aware of some Texas public school educators that have posted and/or shared reprehensible and in- appropriate content on social media related to the assassination of Charlie Kirk,” Com- missioner Mike Morath wrote in a state- ment. “... Such posts could constitute a violation of the Educators’ Code of Ethics, and each instance will be thoroughly re- viewed to determine whether sanctionable conduct has occurred and staff will investi- gate accordingly.” Texas lawmakers are now calling for the firing of public school teachers. Earlier this month, Republicans celebrated the dis- missal of a Texas A&M professor who in- cluded inclusive lesson plans in her coursework on children’s literature, after a Twitter smear campaign led by Rep. Brian Harrison proved effective. The Texas branch of the American Fed- eration of Teachers released a statement about the social media manhunt of teachers, with a particular focus on the TEA. “What started with lawmakers weapon- izing their platforms against civil servants has morphed into a statewide directive to hunt down and fire educators for opinions shared on their personal social media ac- counts,” said Zeph Capo, president of Texas AFT, in a press release. “...It’s no sur- prise that, here in Texas, the purge of civil servants starts with teachers. If you value your freedom, now is the time to speak up and defend the rights of all Texans to exer- cise their constitutional right to have an opinion on matters of civil discourse.” A slew of firings began after MSNBC dis- missed political analyst Matthew Dowd for comments he made on-air about the shoot- ing and Kirk’s position on gun violence. “You can’t stop with these sort of awful thoughts you have and then saying these aw- ful words and not expect awful actions to take place,” Dowd said. The Texas government is systemizing the oversight of university free speech with a newly announced Senate and House Select Committees on Civil Discourse & Freedom of Speech in Higher Education. “Charlie dedicated his life to open, re- spectful dialogue with those he disagreed with, and that approach is something we should all celebrate and fight to protect,” Speaker of the House Dustin Burrows said in a joint statement with Lt. Gov. Dan Pat- rick. “This committee will help identify ways to better protect the fundamental right of free speech on our campuses, including measures to ensure political gatherings are safe and secure, and its recommendations will guide the Legislature’s policy decisions moving forward.” Higher education institutions and public schools have begun releasing statements about the conduct of their faculty, serving as a warning statement and a reminder of so- cial media policies for teachers. Not too far from home, the Lake Dallas Independent School District terminated an employee at Corinth Elementary School for “celebrating the death of Char- lie Kirk,” according to a Facebook post from a member of the school’s Parent Teacher Association. “Not only was she fired, but she is now listed as a dangerous threat to campus and not allowed on property moving forward. Her child, who started Pre-K this year, was also kicked out of school,” reads the post from Corinth Elementary mom Ashlee Worden. In an email to the Observer, a spokesper- son for Lake Dallas ISD clarified that Grubbs was not a teacher, though she was employed by the district and has been dis- missed. Adobe Stock Nearly one in 10 Dallas households is behind on its water bill payments. Next month, those costs are expected to go up even more. Unfair Park from p4 >> p8
