10 December 28, 2023 - January 3, 2024 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents MAGA-folk boycotted the brand after it part- nered with Dylan Mulvaney, a trans influ- encer. Well, conservatives were clearly thirsty for more beer-flavored blood. When they caught wind of a Miller ad touting women’s historic role in the beer-brewing process and denouncing sexism, they complained that the company had “joined the woke cult.” Now for that reader email. With the subject line simply titled “Transgender,” one disgruntled reader’s message read: “Simone You are way off base in support of Transgender!!” Why, yes: We do condemn anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric, and we do support rights for all Texans — including our transgender broth- ers and sisters. Thanks for noticing. Gun Violence at the State Fair You might recall that this year’s State Fair of Texas was evacuated after a shooting one Saturday night in October. The gunfire in- jured three people and sent fairgoers run- ning for the exit. Questions arose in the aftermath about firearm protocol at the fair, which for a time had used contradictory lan- guage on its FAQ page to describe the weap- ons policy. License to Carry holders can enter the fairgrounds with their gun, but the 22-year-old shooting suspect purportedly did not have such a permit. For this piece, the Observer asked gun control advocates for their response to yet another shooting at yet another public event. But a reader named “Plano Tom” clearly didn’t dig our framing. “Good grief,” Plano Tom began. “Could your reporting be any more one sided? Multi- ple quotes from anti gunners and zero from pro 2nd Amendment? Typical and shameful.” Huh. We wonder what a “pro 2nd Amendment” source could have possibly added to this discussion — that they’re pro- shootings at the state fair? AG Ken Paxton’s VRBO Rental Home Earlier this month, KUT reported that Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is the apparent owner of a VRBO rental home. The 5-bedroom cabin in Broken Bow, Oklahoma, is no doubt an impressive rustic retreat, but it also raises some ethical red flags. Accord- ing to KUT, Paxton failed to publicly dis- close the $1.6 million property and “at least five others out of state that he or his blind trust own.” Turns out, this could mean that Paxton is “running afoul of state law.” Man. Hate it when that happens. Our riffy post about this VRBO snafu ruf- fled one reader’s feathers, who slammed it as a “salacious hit piece” and “PROPAGANDA!” “Now as a ‘journalist’, YOU clearly un- derstand that PROPAGANDA is either de- ployed on behalf of an authoritarian government OR as a PAID attack vector on a business or political opponent,” the reader continued. “Which is the case here? Feel free to list ANY remuneration you received for drafting this putrid screed.” No remuneration to speak of beyond our regular modest salary. If we cared about pay we’d have pursued a different profession. Chaplains Blast School Chaplain Law Around 100 Texas chaplains condemned Senate Bill 763 in an August letter addressed to Lone Star school boards. Under the new law, districts must decide whether to ap- prove a policy allowing chaplains to work as school counselors or to serve as volunteers. Supporters of the legislation argue that it will help prevent myriad issues, including school shootings, suicides and drug use. Op- ponents have decried it as one more chip in the wall separating church and state. After our article about the letter ran in late August, we received an email from the appar- ent founder of an Oklahoma nonprofit. He claimed that “chaplaincy is working on thou- sands of schools in South America” and then launched into a lecture about journalism. “In journalism the full story is the stan- dard unless of course there is an agenda or narrative being created,” the reader wrote. “I do remember it was the religious leaders who incited the mob to crucify Jesus, though he too was innocent of any wrong doing. “Wanting to love and help children does not deserve your report!” he continued. “But thankfully you are forgiven by God’s grace.” ▼ GOOD NEWS NICE THINGS THE MOST POSITIVE OBSERVER NEWS STORIES OF 2023. BY KELLY DEARMORE A lthough gloom and doom often seem to be a newspaper’s chief vibes most of the time, we like to think that we can let a little sunlight onto our pages from time to time as well. It’s im- portant for us to point out political corrup- tion, human rights violations, questionable decisions and much more. We get it. That’s what we do. But we also place an emphasis on going where a story leads us and, thankfully, that sometimes means we get to end things on a happy note. North Texas is packed with mil- lions of untold stories, and perhaps we’re being naive here, but we think that a bunch of those unknown tales feature good people doing good things. We hope we can dig more of them up for our readers. Here are some of the more positive Observer news stories from 2023. Internet Sleuths Accused Him of Stealing a Dog. He Actually Saved Her. As fractured as our society is, we can all agree that dogs are awesome and that we most likely do not deserve their uncondi- tional love. Last spring, a number of locally focused Reddit pages and Facebook groups were buzzing with pictures, theories and exclamations regarding the case of a lost, adorable French bulldog named Mabel. There was some not-so-positive drama, but our reporter Simone Carter got to the bot- tom of it for you. ‘Aggravating Persistence’ Helps Exoneration of Dallas Man After 25 Years In 1998, Martin Santillan was sentenced to life for a murder police said he committed in Deep Ellum. In 2023, he walked away a free man after being exonerated. Although the time spent in prison for a crime he didn’t commit is not positive, of course, the fact that Santillan is out of prison with a clear name is a Hollywood-style happy ending. Texas Legislative Session Saw Tiny Victories for Cannabis Reform When it comes to weed in Texas, even tiny moral victories are worth celebrating for a large portion of our readership. Messi Mania Came to North Texas and Lived Up to the Hype with a Dramatic Victory The greatest soccer player of all time came to North Texas in August for the biggest North Texas match in nearly 30 years. Lio- nel Messi showed us all that he is still capa- ble of exceeding the world’s already unreasonable expectations for greatness. ‘We’re Trying to Change the Culture’: Dallas Police Department Addresses Officer Mental Health The challenges and tragedies that police of- ficers must face on the job have long been minimized as “just part of the gig.” But now the Dallas Police Department is looking to change that mentality by placing a greater emphasis on the mental health and well-be- ing of its force. Soul Stirring: This Outdoor Church in Fair Park Gives the Homeless Some Peace (and Food) Every Sunday a unique sort of church ser- vice takes place in a Fair Park parking lot. Led by a man once more in love with drugs than the God he now preaches about, this mission is about caring for those who des- perately need to know that there are people out there who will care for them. Not a Dream: The Wildest Numbers Behind the Texas Rangers Historic World Series Win Did you hear? The Texas-freaking-Rangers won the World-freaking-Series for the first- freaking-time. The YMCA is Staying Downtown, But Some Members Aren’t Celebrating Just Yet After a heated dispute that lasted nearly all of 2023, longtime members of the down- town Dallas YMCA were able to stop the search for a new gym when it was an- nounced that the planned sale and closure of the building would not move ahead and the structure would be taken off the mar- ket. The announcement came less than two weeks before the gym was set to close after many decades in that space. Dimple Jackson Street Will Honor a South Dallas ‘Neighborhood Matriarch’ There has been some controversy sur- rounding various proposed street and park name changes in recent months, but not this one. Dimple Jackson was a beloved neighborhood leader for the more than 50 years she lived on the street that now bears her name. Unfair Park from p8 West Village • 214-750-5667 • www.avalon-salon.com
