Last year, very important legislation was passed which impacted the operation of payday and auto title lenders in Dallas and throughout our state. If you or anyone you know is in financial difficulty and considering a short term loan, these laws protect your rights as a consumer.

During last year’s state legislative session, the Anti-Poverty Coalition of Greater Dallas (including, CitySquare, Friendship West Baptist Church, the United Way of Greater Dallas, the Jewish Community Relations Council, Catholic Charities, along with a number of other non-profit agencies and service providers) joined the Christian Life Commission, Texas Appleseed, Texas Catholic Charities and 500% Interest is Wrong, urging Texas lawmakers to address the exploitative practices of short term lenders.

Payday and auto title loan outfits create a cycle of debt by charging high fees which mask interest rates which can be upwards of 500% APR. With short terms and no partial payments, borrowers often must borrow again at 500% APR in attempts to pay off the loan. The average payday borrower in Texas pays $840 for a $300 loan.

This state-wide collaboration was successful in getting two bills passed which place new restrictions on Credit Service Organizations (most payday and auto title lenders in Texas are registered as CSOs and will be impacted by this legislation). CSOs are now required to:

•       Register with the Office of Consumer Credit Commissioner, and the licensing fee will fund the Texas Financial Education Endowment
•       Report on consumer and transaction data
•       Clearly disclose fees, typical repayment patterns, and fees of comparable loans
•       Post an OCCC helpline number for consumers
•       Provide restitution to customers injured by a violation of CSO regulation or Finance Code

Locally, the Anti-Poverty Coalition prevailed in their efforts to get Dallas’ City Council to take action against predatory lenders. On May 25, 2011, the Dallas City Council unanimously passed a zoning ordinance requiring alternative financial institutions to:

•       Operate at a minimum distance of 1,500 feet from another location
•       Operate at a minimum distance of 300 feet from a lot in a residential district
•       Operate at a minimum distance of 500 feet from an expressway
•       Only operate in a freestanding building
•       Possess a Specific Use Permit (SUP) in all permitted districts

On June 22, 2011, the Dallas City Council unanimously passed a regulatory ordinance requiring:

•       The loan principal for a payday loan to be capped at 20 percent of the borrower’s gross monthly income, and auto-title loans are capped at 3 percent of the borrower’s gross annual income
•       Limits payments to four installment loans with no renewals, or a single payment loan with three renewals or rollovers
•       Each installment or renewal payment pay down 25% of the loan principal

These ordinances took effect January 1.

Predatory short term lending drains wealth out of our communities and hamper economic development. More and more, cities are increasingly concerned that payday and auto title loan outfits depress property values, become magnets for crime and give our communities a look of economic decline.

The economic health of our families and our community is dependent upon being smart about the nature of the businesses that court our patronage. The exploitation of those in financially desperate circumstances is best combated with financial education and the public engagement necessary to make certain these businesses operate with integrity.

The Rev. Gerald Britt Jr. is vice president of public policy at CitySquare.org. Rev. Britt blogs at changethewind.org.  and writes a monthly column for the Dallas Morning News. His e-mail address is gbritt@citysquare.

Nestled within the flora and fauna of one of Dallas County’s most picturesque areas, the Dogwood Canyon Audubon Center at Cedar Hill officially opened its doors September 9, 2011, with a ribbon cutting and dedication ceremony.

“The project has been 12 years in the making,” said Center Director Patty McGill.  The idea for the center began when amateur naturist David Hurt discovered flowering dogwoods -which are rare to the area- in the canyon while hiking.
“He had planned to build his dream home and live there after purchasing some of the land, but realized the land was too special and that it needed to be shared,” explained T Hanson, a nature director at the Audubon.

The land is special indeed, containing endangered birds, unique plant life and animals that all co-exist within the 300 acres and located south of downtown Dallas in Cedar Hill. “What makes it so unique is the combination of the black prairie land and Austin chalk that meet in this area,” said Hanson.

Hurt’s discovery was the first of many rare trees and plants that were found, including: orchids, Western Ashe Juniper and Shimmering Oaks.  Audubon centers, which are located throughout the country, are places where young and old can visit to learn, explore and contribute to protecting the native plant and animal life of Texas.

The opening of the Cedar Hill center makes Dallas County the only place in the country to have two Audubon facilities.  The Trinity River Audubon Center in Dallas opened in October 2008.

The Dogwood Canyon Audubon location was planned first, even though it was built after the Trinity River facility, explained Ross Coulter who works with the center.  The Trinity River location was built upon an old tire dump in an effort to reclaim the area and its environmental resources.  The Dogwood Canyon center was built to preserve the natural land already as it existed and offers a much different experience for visitors.

Many who work with the center describe it as an outdoor science classroom. As many as 100 children a day are expected to visit Dogwood Canyon, explained Education Manager Faizel Ismail.

“We’re just bringing them outside and showing them science,” said Ismail.  “It isn’t just a boring classroom, science can be an adventure.”

Some of the programs offered for children include hiking, live animal encounters, interactive classrooms within the facilities, nature and play areas and a world of new discoveries.

What began with the “story of the dogwood tree,” the Dogwood Canyon Audubon Center is described by officials one of the most pristine places within 100 miles.  It’s available for visitors from across North Texas and the rest of the state to enjoy.

Open to local visitors, the center is located at 1206 W. FM 1382 Cedar Hill, Tuesday through Sunday from 9:00 am to 5:00 p.m.

Ashley Stainton is junior at SMU, majoring in Journalism and Psychology.

By Shawn Williams

When I helped organize and launch Dallas South News two years ago, creating a print edition was always part of the plan.  As much as we value the open web, we know there are those who still love to wake up and sit down at the breakfast table with their cup of coffee and morning newspaper.

We feel that our print edition will allow us to reach out to individuals who we have not effectively captured through our online presence.  It also gives us another tool to help realize our vision: to tell the real story of every Southern Dallas community.

Words cannot express how excited I am about our foray into print.  But let me be clear: we continue to be a web based organization.  Unlike our friends in the traditional media who write for print and adapt to the web, our stories are produced from a web first mindset. From there we will work to make the content fit our print aspirations.

Still, I didn’t want to print a newspaper just for the sake of saying that we did.  I wanted us to design a product that embodied the spirit of innovation that is prevalent throughout DSN, from our board of directors to the members of the crew.

Fortunately, board member Neil Foote introduced me to Rhashad Hicks the creator of this phenomenal design.  It is the perfect mix of contemporary and traditional and captures the essence of dallassouthnews.org.  When I saw the template, I knew we were headed in the right direction.

This would not be possible were it not for our sponsors, the University of North Texas at Dallas and Texas A&M Commerce.  Our inaugural issue has an emphasis on education since school is now back in session.

The feature article highlights DISD’s new Barack Obama Male Leadership Academy which opens with high expectations.  We also have contributions from State Representative Barbara Mallory Caraway and Dallas County Republican Party chair Wade Emmert. This is just the beginning.

We plan to continue to push the envelope and bring more new ideas to the print arena.  But in order to be effective we will need to get feedback from you.  Please follow us on Twitter @dallassouthnews, like us on Facebook and sign up for our newsletter.  This is a team effort and we’re glad to have you on board.

@shawnpwilliams
shawn@dallassouthnews.org

Well at least I know one person was listening to my presentation at Blogging While Brown in Los Angeles this weekend.  Zondra Hughes, deputy editor of Rolling Out, posted an article yesterday that centered around my presentation “Bootstrapping Your Way to Hyper Local Success.”  My partner in the presentation was April Davis of Around Harlem.

Zondra’s article titled Hyperlocal Blogging is the Rage; So, Why Aren’t Black Bloggers Cashing In? also included a few excerpts from an interview we did after the presentation.

• “Nonprofit does not mean free. It’s a business model similar to the public radio or public television model.

• “Advertisers don’t understand online yet. Do I go to social media? Do I go to a specific website? Do I go mobile?”

• “Because of the lack of small businesses in the African American community, that makes [securing advertisers] harder. That’s another challenge.”

It was the 4th Annual Blogging While Brown Conference, an international conference for bloggers of color. This year’s conference also featured a live presentation of the Black Weblog Awards, hosted by Kim Coles and former CBS 11 news anchor Rene Syler.

Photo by Zondra Hughes

Dallas South News Wire

Christina Hoag of the Associated Press wrote article on hyperlocal news which was run by news organizations across the country yesterday.  Her article titled LA teen reporters boost community with newspaper features the Boyle Heights Beat, a project funded by The California Endowment.  There are a couple of excerpts that reference Dallas South News:

• Others are trying similar type of publications in urban neighborhoods. In predominantly black South Dallas, Shawn Williams launched DallasSouthNews.org two years ago after feeling his community was unfairly portrayed by the mainstream media and coverage waning.

• So far, he hasn’t tapped philanthropists, but has cobbled together funding from reader donations, advertisements, and fundraisers such as a golf tournament. “It’s going to take diverse streams of revenue to get it done,” said Williams, president and editor.

• DallasSouthNews, like most media startups these days, is online only, but in low income areas, where Internet penetration lags more affluent communities, newspapers remain important to reach readers.

The article also has a quote from Kelly McBride, ethics leader at the Poynter Institute.

On May 10, 2011, security guard Robert St. Clair was killed at the Wing Stop Restaurant located at 1515 S. Buckner Blvd.  Mr. St. Clair was doing his security rounds when he entered the Wing Stop and interrupted a robbery in progress.  During the course of attempting to capture the suspect, Mr. St. Clair was shot and killed with his own weapon.

Since the offense date, Homicide Detectives have continued to diligently work the case and, with the assistance of the Dallas Police Department Crime Scene Response Unit, had developed information concerning the suspect who was identified as Lemuel Mosley B/M/2-16-88. Suspect Mosley had been arrested for another Robbery offense in Mesquite for which he was in jail.

On July 7, 2011, a Capital Murder warrant with a $2 million bond was issued against Suspect Mosley for shooting Mr. St. Clair.

(L to R) Laura Mason, general manager of Norma’s Cafe in North Dallas; Kathryn Diaz, grand prize winner; and Ed Murph, Norma’s Cafe owner.

In celebration of National Egg Month in May, Norma’s Cafe held a month-long omelet contest in which 4,000 customers submitted their original recipes at their Oak Cliff and North Dallas locations.  Last Thursday Norma’s presented four finalists of the contest during a celebration in North Dallas.  Two entrants were selected from each location. Their tasty selections were as follows:

• Kathy Holder of Oak Cliff – recipe: brisket, barbecue sauce, buffalo sauce, pinto beans, bell peppers, corn, red onion, American, cheddar and Jack cheeses

• Robert Tapia of Oak Cliff – recipe: bacon, chicken fried chicken, buffalo sauce, avocado, jalapenos, American cheese, and tater tots

• Mary Lou White of North Dallas – recipe:  brisket, barbecue sauce, black-eyed peas, green onions, tomato, turnip greens, cheddar and fried pickles

• Kathryn Diaz of North Dallas – recipe: chicken fried steak, sausage gravy, bell peppers, green onions, mushrooms, spinach, and cheddar cheese

Blue Ribbon Panel (L to R) – DSN Editor Shawn Williams; Ed Murph, Norma’s Cafe; Steve Shenkel, Schepps Dairy; Laird Morgan, Texas Scottish Rite Hospital

A blue ribbon panel of industry “eggsperts” (get it?) which included myself served as judges at the event.  Other judges included:

• Laird Morgan, executive chef of Texas Scottish Rite Hospital

• Steve Shenkel, vice president of operations from Schepps Dairy

• Ed Murph, Norma’s Cafe owner and cafeteur

The grand prize winner was Kathryn Diaz who received an omelet party for eight. Her omelet will also be featured on the famous Norma’s Cafe breakfast menu for the month of June.

Four Democratic clubs and North Dallas Texas Democratic Women sponsored a mayoral debate last night (4/28/11) at Northaven United Methodist Church – a perfect venue for the large attendance. Hosting were Knowing more about Chief Kunkle and Mike Rawlings, I was there to decide which of the two should get my vote. Big surprise.

All four candidates were outstanding. Edward Opka blew me away with his brilliance and his ability to give us financial and economic information in a concise and compelling form even I could understand. He drew rare applause from the audience when he asked for more civility and respect for those who have been savaged by words, such as the head of DISD, City Council members, city officers and more.

Mr. Opka wants to make it possible for our policemen to live in Dallas (rather than less expensive suburbs) because a policeman we know as a neighbor is much more valuable to us when he or she knows us and vice-versa. Opka pointed out that a certain “Dark Triangle” he described held a population of 150,000 people with no banks, full-service grocery stores, drugstores, theaters, shopping…nothing. He would work to change that.

Ron Natinsky has an incredible history of service to Dallas – most recently as City Councilman. He has brought major businesses to Dallas in the past, and is unashamedly Conservative – aligned with former Mayor Leppert’s goals. Natinsky is certainly the most experienced of all four candidates. His easy manner makes one know that he could be a very effective, but tough negotiator.

Natinsky has been instrumental in the development of the International Inland Port of Dallas – quite important to the economic development of our region. He brought Fortune 500 business to Dallas at a critical time for the city, drawing praise for that from the other candidates. Natinsky is a native Dallasite and, for all of his adult life, has been a public servant both as volunteer or elected official.

Chief Kunkle stresses his belief that our city government should be most concerned with local issues of its citizens. His vision would promote neighborhood activities to make Dallas even more attractive to new businesses who are already wooed by the basic advantages of no income taxes in Dallas or Texas. Kunkle stated he was running for the office of Mayor precisely to fight the Trinity roadway which he thinks will detract from everything we hope to gain from development of the Trinity River.

Kunkle and Rawlings seemed to have a tongue-in-cheek battle with one another, adding a bit of levity to the debate. The one other applause from the audience came when Moderator Gromer Jeffers, Jr. asked why the Chief thought a kill-free animal shelter was an important issue.  In his reply, Kunkle noted he believed dogs had souls. This amused Jeffers, and he questioned, “You believe dogs have souls?” The audience applauded and shouted “Yes,” in answer to Jeffers.

Mike Rawlings is tall, forceful, with an advertising background and a true passion to sell Dallas in the traditional way. He has connections with CEOs all over America, and enthusiastically anticipates making a pitch to many for moving their headquarters to our city, theoretically bringing more jobs and tax base to Dallas. He says he learned a lot from his experience in South Dallas while on the board of Ace Cash Express, trying to service those who have no possibility for banking their money, confirming what Edward Opka had said earlier about the absence of banks.

Rawlings said we must solve that problem to prohibit loan sharking and exorbitant fees. Rawlings seems to have and interest in Southern Dallas, in particular, and a plan to change it for the better. He also worked to push through building “The Bridge” for the homeless, but wants to go much beyond to provide for homelessness.

I left this debate totally sold on all four candidates, and to this minute have no idea how I will vote. My friends and I agreed we have never had a better slate for Mayor and Dallas wins, whoever is elected.

The resulting work will be displayed at the Janette Kennedy Gallery of the South Side on Lamar during a reception held April 21st and will run through April 27th.  Meeks will be on hand to discuss his work and some of the models will be in attendance as well.  Please join us in celebrating the brave men and women who participated in the unique project

Program Sponsors

South Side Public Improvement District