Le Journal

In just a few weeks, volunteers will gather at Dallas-Fort Worth National Cemetery to lay thousands of wreaths in honor of local service members. But Wreaths Across America says they are still far short of their goal— and they’re hoping the North Texas community will help close the gap before the sponsorship deadline next Friday, Nov. 28. The annual Wreaths Across America event is set for Saturday, Dec. 13, as part of a nationwide effort to remember and honor veterans during the holiday season. “We’re almost 33,000 wreaths short of our goal,” said Misty Weaver with Wreaths Across America. “That sponsorship is vital to continue this mission and make sure every veteran is honored.” For the past five years, every grave at the Dallas cemetery has received a wreath, made possible through strong community support. This year, however, Weaver said that tradition is at risk if enough wreaths aren’t sponsored by the Nov. 28 deadline. The Wreaths Across America program receives no government funding and relies entirely on donations. Donations can be made through the NBC 5 and Telemundo 39 Veteran’s Network page. Wreaths cost $17 each, and every donation helps ensure a veteran is remembered this holiday season.

In North Texas, overwhelming demand forced the new rent and utility assistance portal in Tarrant County to close just hours after launching. The Center for Transforming Lives, which now manages the program, said its online portal opened Nov. 3 and reached capacity the same day. It will remain closed until the Monday after Thanksgiving. “Even though we hadn’t advertised, people knew we were the provider and got online, came into our doors,” said Carol Klocek, CEO of the Center for Transforming Lives. “We had people here at 7:30 a.m. already with their applications.” The center was chosen as the county’s new provider after Tarrant County dissolved its Human Services Department, citing concerns that more money was being spent on staff than direct assistance. Klocek said they received about 210 applications on the first day—some from former county clients and others new to the program. “We knew the need was there,” she said. “Four in 10 households each month are being evicted.” To prevent massive backlogs, Klocek said the center will likely continue accepting applications in limited batches—roughly 200 at a time—then pausing to process them. “What we don’t want to do—so important that we do not give people false hope,” she said. “Six weeks is too long. Two months is too long to respond to an eviction.” Klocek said the nonprofit prioritizes getting funds to residents, not staffing. Her team of four, she said, has already processed 134 applications—more than triple what the county’s team of 20 had handled at one time. “The county was doing 40 applications at a time,” she said, adding that they are also connecting those clients with other services. “We’re helping them to create a plan for financial stability, helping with basic needs; with diapers, with wipes, whatever,” Klocek said. She expects the $2 million currently allocated will run out before the end of the year and anticipates asking the county for more support. For folks being turned away, Klocek said they are pointing them to other resources. County response Precinct 2 Commissioner Alisa Simmons, the only commissioner to vote against shutting down the county’s Human Services Department, said more could have been done to support the transition. “They applied for this grant because they care about the community,” Simmons said. “And we took advantage of that compassion by underfunding the operational side of the work.” Simmons added that while the previous department also closed its portal at times, she believes it’s not a sustainable model. “Shutting down the portal should never be an option,” she said. Precinct 1 Commissioner Roderick Miles Jr. said the volume of applications highlights an urgent need. “The overwhelming response to the rental and utility assistance program confirms what we have known for months: the need in Tarrant County is urgent, widespread and growing,” Miles wrote in a statement. “The Center for Transforming Lives received more applications in three weeks than originally projected and has already provided more than $45,000 in assistance.” He thanked the center for its swift work and said ensuring accuracy and fairness in processing applications takes time. “What we will not do is compromise program integrity or rush a process that determines whether families receive the support they depend on,” he said. Tarrant County Judge Tim O’Hare called the change a win for efficiency and taxpayers. “The action we took two months ago reduced the Tarrant County operating budget by more than $1.7 million and doubled the amount going to people in need,” O’Hare said in a written statement. “It is a win for taxpayers and a win for people in need. This is good governance.”

The Las Vegas Sands wants to spend billions of dollars to put something like the Marina Bay Sands in North Texas. It brings up an important question: if they’re successful, will it have an arena included to house the Dallas Mavericks? Dr. Miriam Adelson and her son-in-law, Patrick Dumont, own and run both Las Vegas Sands and the Dallas Mavericks as a family. Right now, they, along with leaders in the city of Dallas, are trying to put a puzzle together for the future home of the basketball team. If a destination resort is successful in North Texas, they said it could “possibly” be the next home for the Mavericks. Not only do they build destination resorts, but Las Vegas Sands is also in the arena-building business. The Mavericks are scheduled to play the Houston Rockets in the 2026 preseason inside the company’s arena across the Pacific in Macau. Construction of a 15,000-seat arena is underway in an expansion of the Marina Bay Sands in Singapore. In Dallas, the contract at the American Airlines Center ends in 2031. So the obvious question is: If the Las Vegas Sands is looking for 30 to 50 acres of land for a destination resort, will it include an arena? Andy Abboud, Vice President with the Las Vegas Sands, says – maybe. Andy Abboud, senior vice president for Las Vegas Sands, left, talks with NBC 5’s Phil Prazan, right. “I think that as much as our company is committed to building a fantastic destination resort in Texas and Dallas, or maybe another location, the family is committed to maintaining the incredible level of competition that the Dallas Mavericks have always enjoyed. But they’re equally passionate about both. They’re separate entities with separate goals and separate forces. So the goal is to have both of them there and both be great,” said Abboud. The two different legal entities are on separate paths in the next few years, but if there’s an opportunity to combine in the future, they will take a look then, said Abboud. “It’s a possibility. But the focus right now for the family is on the Mavericks, and then we have a separate focus on destination resorts.” The new CEO of the Dallas Mavericks, Rick Welts, told NBC 5 that it’s a possibility as well. In an interview with NBC 5’s Deborah Ferguson earlier this fall, he called the Las Vegas Sands and their quest for a destination resort their “secret weapon.” “It’s an unbelievable advantage we have. They built the arena where the preseason games were played in Macau, which was built by the Las Vegas Sands Corporation. So they’ve even built arenas before,” said Welts. He told NBC 5 they aim to “reinvent the fan experience” and are looking for a 50 or 60-acre site themselves. The American Airlines Center sits on roughly four acres. DALLAS, TX – FEBRUARY 8: An overall view of the arena before the game between the Houston Rockets and the Dallas Mavericks on February 8, 2025 at American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2025 NBAE (Photo by Glenn James/NBAE via Getty Images) “So multiply that times ten. Multiple hotels, again, a ton of retail, big gathering spaces. We want people to be able to come and watch World Cup games on our big outdoor screen at our arenas as another gathering place in the Dallas-Fort Worth area,” said Welts. In City Hall, Councilman Chad West chairs two vital committees in this puzzle: the Ad Hoc Committee on Professional Sport Recruitment and Retention, along with the Finance Committee, the panel overseeing 50,000 acres owned by the City of Dallas. “And to me, it’s mission critical to keep the Mavericks here in Dallas,” said West. While he says the puzzle is far from complete— including a state ban on casino gaming—he wants to lay the groundwork for Dallas…

Since 2015, research from the center at the College of Environmental Design has informed policy advances in California and beyond. The post How the Terner Center for Housing Innovation shaped California’s decade of housing reform appeared first on Berkeley News.