NEWS YOU OUGHT TO KNOW
Jim’s Car Wash scheduled to close, effective July 19
Dallas, Texas – Jim’s Car Wash was given notice to cease operations effective Friday, July 19. The owner, Dale Davenport was ordered to provide around the clock security after many crimes had been committed at the car wash location, the latest, an innocent woman was shot and killed during a fight in May.
Mr. Davenport plans to appeal the closure through the appeals court.
Back-to-school vaccinations more important than ever, Parkland experts say – Parkland health centers offer immunizations at ‘Walk-in-Wednesday’ clinics
Dallas – Summer is in full swing, but so are preparations for Dallas County students to head back to school in August. With outbreaks of flu, mumps and measles grabbing headlines this year in Texas and nationwide, pediatricians and infectious disease experts at Parkland Health & Hospital System say immunizations are vital to keep your child safe and well.
“Vaccines are one of the most important steps you can take to protect the health of your child,” said Barbara Durso, MD, lead staff physician at Parkland’s Oak West Health Center. “Vaccines keep children healthy by preventing infectious diseases. When children are healthy, parents and children win. Children miss fewer days of school and parents miss fewer days of work. When parents do not vaccinate their children, they put everyone at risk – their own children, their classmates and their teachers – for diseases that are easily prevented but that can be devastating.”
Parents can bring their children for immunizations on Wednesdays without having to make an appointment to one of Parkland’s Community Oriented Primary Care (COPC) health centers or Youth & Family centers located throughout Dallas County to take advantage of convenient access to immunizations on “Walk-in Wednesdays.”
Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) confirmed 15 measles cases in Texas through June 18, with more than 1,000 cases reported by the CDC in 28 states in the first six months of this year. In May 2019, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported 736 cases of mumps in the U.S., with Texas reporting more than 300 cases.
“Measles and mumps are highly contagious diseases that are preventable,” said Trish M. Perl, MD, MSc, infectious disease specialist at Parkland and Professor of Infectious Diseases at UT Southwestern Medical Center. “They pose serious health risks to children and to adults, as well. Adults are also vulnerable to measles and other childhood diseases if their immunity has declined, if they were inadequately or never vaccinated or if they have conditions that put them at higher risk of complications, such as diabetes or pregnancy.”
In Texas, before entering kindergarten, children are required to have been vaccinated for Diphtheria/Tetanus/Pertussis; Polio; Measles, Mumps, Rubella (MMR); Hepatitis B; Varicella; and Hepatitis A. Children in daycare must also be vaccinated. For older students, a Diphtheria/Tetanus/Pertussis booster and Meningococcal vaccines are required for school.
In addition to ensuring their children stay up-to-date on their vaccinations, Dr. Perl urges all adults, age 19 and beyond, to be sure that they are protected.
Immunizations during Walk-in-Wednesdays are available from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Parents can still walk-in with their children for vaccinations on other days, but appointments are recommended. To schedule an appointment for your child at a Parkland COPC health center, please call 214-266-4000. To schedule an appointment at a Youth & Family Center, please call 214-266-1257.
Parkland accepts Medicare, Medicaid, CHIP and most major insurance plans. If you do not have insurance, Parkland can provide financial screening to determine if patients qualify for financial assistance. In addition, the Vaccines for Children (VFC) program may be able to help. The VFC program provides vaccines for children ages 18 years and younger, who are not insured, Medicaid-eligible, or American Indian or Alaska Native.
The Amon Carter Museum of American Art Celebrates its Grand Reopening with Fifth Annual Party on the Porch – The Carter’s Free Outdoor Art and Concert Festival will Be Held on Saturday, September 14 from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Featuring The Band of Heathens and Abraham Alexander
Fort Worth – July 12, 2019— Party on the Porch, the Amon Carter Museum of American Art’s annual music and arts festival, returns for another year to celebrate the reopening of the recently renovated museum during a day filled with live music, art, activities, and more. This free event will be an all-day experience from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. with art-making, extended gallery hours, and live music on Saturday, September 14. Play all day and party all night at the new Carter!
Partygoers will be able to enjoy the musical stylings of local Texas groups The Band of Heathens and Fort Worth musician Abraham Alexander. Following the success of their sixth studio album and Ray Charles tribute, A Message From the People Revisited, The Band of Heathens will perform at the Carter for an unforgettable night. Local Fort Worth musician Abraham Alexander will kick off the festivities at 7 p.m. playing music from his debut self-titled EP (out September 2 on Mahogany Records) for a music-filled night followed by The Band of Heathens at 8:30 p.m. The day begins at 10 a.m. on September 14 as the Carter opens its doors to the public for the first time since completing renovation to the galleries.
For more information about Party on the Porch, parking, and accessibility, call 817.989.5030 or email info@cartermuseum.org.
Mayor Eric Johnson Appointed Vice Chair for Transit of the United States Conference of Mayors Transportation and Communications Standing Committee
Dallas, TX – Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson was appointed Vice Chair for Transit of the United States Conference of Mayors (USCM) Transportation and Communications Standing Committee. The appointment was made by Conference President Bryan Barnett of Rochester Hills, MI.
“I want to thank President Barnett for this appointment and for entrusting me with this leadership role,” said Johnson. “Cities and metropolitan areas are the foundation of our nation’s economy and robust transit service is a foundation of our cities and metropolitan areas. One of my top priorities is workforce development and improving mobility and access to opportunity for transit-dependent Dallasites, especially for those needing to get to and from employment.”
“We, at Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) are excited to hear the news of Mayor Johnson’s appointment,” said Gary Thomas, DART’s president/executive director. “As a nation, we are at a critical juncture for the future of transit and transportation as the Congress has recently started discussions on the next bill to authorize surface transportation programs, and, most importantly, to develop a sustainable funding solution for the Highway Trust Fund. Mayor Johnson continues the work he started at the Texas State Legislature by championing mobility options that serve not only the residents of Dallas and North Texas, but across the nation,” said Thomas.
USCM is the official non-partisan organization of cities with populations of 30,000 or more. There are 1,408 such cities in the country today. Each city is represented in the conference by its chief elected official, the mayor. Mayors collectively work through the conference’s standing committees to adopt policy resolutions.
During each annual conference in June, standing committees recommend policy positions they believe should be adopted by the organization. The policy resolutions adopted by the conference represent the views of the nation’s mayors and are distributed to the President of the United States and Congress. The USCM Transportation & Communications Standing Committee is chaired by Plano Mayor Harry LaRosiliere.
“I know many mayors throughout the nation recognize the importance of transit and I am eager to work with my fellow mayors and Congress on this US Conference of Mayors priority,” said Johnson.
Emails show Iowa official’s Tupac fixation before his ouster
By RYAN J. FOLEY
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — The director of Iowa’s social services agency was a huge fan of the late rapper Tupac Shakur, and he frequently let his subordinates know it.
Emails obtained by The Associated Press show that Iowa Department of Human Services Director Jerry Foxhoven routinely sent messages to employees lauding Shakur’s music and lyrics even after at least one complained to lawmakers. Then last month, he sent another such email to all 4,300 agency employees. He was abruptly ousted from his job the next work day.
Foxhoven, 66, told employees that he had been a huge fan of the hip-hop artist for years. He hosted weekly “Tupac Fridays” to play his music in the office. He traded lyrics with employees and he marked his own 65th birthday with Shakur-themed cookies, including ones decorated with the words “Thug life.”
The agency released 350 pages of emails with the words “Tupac” or “2Pac” sent to and from Foxhoven during his two-year tenure in response to an AP request. They show that Foxhoven marked the anniversary of Shakur’s death, shared one of his lyrics about love on Valentine’s Day and used the rapper’s image to try to improve the agency’s culture. He told colleagues he was inspired by lyrics that included: “It’s time for us as a people to start makin’ some changes.”
While some employees praised Foxhoven for using Shakur to inject levity and inspiration into a stressful workplace, at least one complained to lawmakers about it last year, according to the emails provided under the open records law. And when Gov. Kim Reynolds told Foxhoven to resign on June 17, it was his first work day after he sent an agency-wide email telling employees to mark Shakur’s birthday over the weekend by listening to one of his songs.
