Lucas Manfield
Dallas Observer
Charleston, WV, United States
Contact Lucas
Discover and connect with journalists and influencers around the world, save time on email research, monitor the news, and more.
| Recent: |
|
| Past: |
|
Past articles by Lucas:
Dallas Handed Out Subsidies In Exchange For Affordable Housing. Developers Got Around It.
Developers avoided building affordable housing in at least four Tax Increment Financing districts, which required 20% of new residential units be affordable. → Read More
A Pandemic Devastated Dallas More Than a Century Ago. Here’s Why Hundreds Died.
As reports of a new influenza epidemic sweeping the coast alarmed residents, Dallas’ chief doctor offered reassurances. “The general health situation in Dallas is good,” he told a reporter for The Dallas Morning News. The disease wasn’t much worse than the common flu, he claimed. It was 1918, and the... → Read More
Volunteers Add Some Pizzazz to Pioneering Downtown Bike Lane
On Friday, organizers from the city and several nonprofits met with a dozen volunteers outside the Dallas Farmers Market. They were there to inaugurate the city's newest civic enhancement: its "first-ever protected micro-mobility facility," as it's been referred to by planners. In other words, a bike lane — which now... → Read More
Plano-Based Rent-A-Center Gets Nailed for Suppressing Competition, Walks Away With Slap On Wrist
Yet again, the FTC failed to pursue meaningful penalties for obvious wrongdoing by the Plano-based rent-to-own giant, according to its own commissioner. → Read More
A Green New Deal For Dallas? Activists Protest City's New Climate Plan.
Environmental activists decried the new plan as insufficient. An early draft showed its proposals would only get the city halfway toward the mayor's goal to abide by the Paris Agreement commitments. → Read More
Texas Joins 26 States in Urging FDA to Close Loopholes in E-Cigarette Crackdown
The attorneys general want the FDA to ban menthol e-cigarettes and go after JUUL knockoffs with disposable cartridges. → Read More
City Proposes Fixes For Its Scooter Problem
The city is proposing implementing new restrictions and raising fees to address safety concerns about its "Dockless Mobility Program." The program allows five companies — Bird, Jump, Lime, Ojo and Wheels — to blanket the city in scooters that can be picked up, rented by the minute and then dropped... → Read More
Atmos Requests Record Rate Hike on Dallas Gas Bills
Dallas' natural gas provider, Atmos, is requesting an $18 million rate hike. It's the biggest yet and comes on the heels of a protracted pricing dispute with the city. Atmos claims the rate increase is necessary to fund the replacement of the city's aging pipeline network. It will raise consumer bills... → Read More
Public Defender's Office Wins Grant to Finally Add More Social Workers
The four new employees will help staff attorneys keep track of their clients and make sure they're connected to social services like housing and healthcare. → Read More
Council Members Request Review of Controversial Affordable Housing Contract
The Dallas City Council is requesting a review of a city contract to develop nearly 100 units of affordable housing in southern Dallas after a member accused the developer of having a conflict of interest. Notre Dame Place, the nonprofit that submitted a bid for the project, is led by... → Read More
EPA Promises Additional Soil Testing at Southern Dallas Superfund Site
The announcement was made at a community meeting last week where the agency presented results from a recent study showing heightened levels of heavy metals at parts of the property bordering a road and a creek. → Read More
DFW Company Fined $3 Million For A 'Stupid' Attempt To Fool ICE
A North Texas concrete manufacturing firm will pay a $3 million fine for continuing to employ undocumented workers despite warnings, the Department of Justice announced on Monday. Immigration and Customs Enforcement determined in 2015 that more than 40 employees of Speed Fab-Crete's Kennedale plant were not authorized to work in the... → Read More
New Report: DFW Is Less Affordable Than NYC. Why? Blame Car Culture.
Dallas transit advocates respond to a new report showing a typical household spends nearly half its income on housing and transportation, making the city less affordable than San Francisco or New York City. → Read More
Council Sends DART Silver Line Back to the Drawing Board
North Dallas council members object to the agency's new plans for the Silver Line, which would put aerial trains next to a senior center. → Read More
After FDA Crackdown on Juul, Disposable Knockoffs Take Over
Puff Bars, a completely disposable version of the Juul device that has introduced millions of kids to nicotine, skirts federal regulations. → Read More
Dallas' Public Housing Authority Is Opening Applications for its Rent Assistance Program Starting Tuesday
Dallas' housing authority will begin accepting new applications for its housing voucher program at 9 a.m. Tuesday. It's the first time DHA has accepted new applicants to the program in years. → Read More
Dallas Wants to Give Millions in Tax Breaks to a Failing Pizza Delivery Startup
Dallas plans to offer Zume, a Silicon Valley tech startup, more than $5 million in tax incentives to open a manufacturing hub. The company, once valued at more than $2 billion, has come on hard times after failing to deliver on its early promise of robotic pizza delivery. The city... → Read More
The City Promised 6,600 New Affordable Homes. It Delivered 320.
The city's housing director called the goal, made two years ago, were not practical. His officer briefed the council on a new plan, with less ambitious goals, on Tuesday. → Read More
Loss of AT&T Byron Nelson Is Trinity Forest Golf Club’s Latest Broken Promise
The AT&T Byron Nelson will not return in 2021, leaving the city-owned course without the "prestigious golf championship" it promised to attract in exchange for millions in taxpayer dollars. → Read More
Teenager’s Death Comes as Vaping-Related Hospitalizations on Decline
It's the county's first vaping-related death, and CDC experts caution that "we must remain vigilant" as vaping remains popular among school-aged children. → Read More