Library decisions
Re: “Planned closures panned — City Council members, residents express frustration with sudden proposal,” Wednesday news story.
As an Oak Lawn resident and regular voter at the Oak Lawn Library, I was disappointed by Tuesday’s presentation from library officials. With five years in data analytics, I was baffled by the amateur mistakes. We should expect more from high‑level officials.
The biggest issue was the lack of data supporting their conclusions, as Dallas City Council member Cara Mendelsohn noted. If you propose a drastic change like closing a library, you need to show your work. They didn’t.
Their framework also fell short by including metrics that don’t make sense. Driving distance was treated as a key metric, yet children can’t drive, and many who rely on libraries don’t have cars.
Opinion
They also left out metrics that help show what makes libraries great community centers. For example, Oak Lawn is a successful voting site, yet voter turnout was dismissed as “hard to measure” by the city’s chief data officer, even though Dallas County tracks it clearly. It could have been included; they chose not to.
I could go on, but the message is clear. I understand budgetary pressures, but today’s presentation was the city going through the motions of analytics and not presenting a real solution. Dallasites deserve better than that.
Alex O’Donnell, Dallas/Oak Lawn
Support for Renner Frankford
Re: “Four libraries up for closure,” Sunday Metro story.
The potential closure of the Renner Frankford Library would be a major loss for our community, particularly for families with young children and the more than 55,000 city of Dallas residents it serves.
My daughter and I never missed toddler story time at Renner Frankford. As a first-time mom, those mornings were a lifeline, offering free community and support during an often isolating time. I truly believe my daughter’s love of reading began through early exposure to the library, and I hoped to continue that tradition with her baby sister.
Renner Frankford is one of the busiest libraries in the Dallas system in terms of visitors and circulation. It also serves as a voting and civic center for residents who have no recreation center, arts center or other city investments beyond fire and police services. While another library is nearby, programs there are already overcrowded and cannot absorb additional demand.
Closing this library is especially concerning given recent investments. The building was recently remodeled from floor to ceiling after flooding and is currently undergoing ADA bathroom upgrades.
Renner Frankford is an essential community asset and should remain open.
Katie Mudd, Far North Dallas
Remembering MLK Jr.
Re: “America owes King a debt it can never fully repay — I truly believe we would have experienced a bloodbath had King not been here,” by Peter Johnson, Sunday Opinion, and “We’re ignoring conservatism’s racial baggage — Tolerance of racism on the right excludes me as much as the foolish extremes of the left,” by Joshua Whitfield, Monday Opinion.
Though the opinions of Johnson and Whitfield reflect often-expressed attitudes, both seem to ignore the universal message of racial equality and human dignity that Martin Luther King Jr. expressed in his 1963 “I have a dream” speech.
I doubt that King would appreciate Johnson’s tribute that “he preached to a society that would have been justified to seek vengeance.” King never found vengeance justifiable. He spoke instead in favor of nonviolent resistance.
King likely also would question Whitfield’s tribute that recognizes that there is racism in the American left and yet chooses only to focus on racism among conservatives, such as William F. Buckley. King probably would remind Whitfield of the pivotal role that conservative Senate Minority Leader Everett Dirksen played in the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which King spoke of as the “second emancipation.”
King should be remembered for his universal message to people of all races, religions and political viewpoints.
Raymond J. Termini, Dallas/Turtle Creek
Where are our manners?
Our country’s morals and values have been corrupted and in turn have contaminated American society, government and even our beloved sport of college football.
The behavior of some football spectators has evolved to vulgar displays of disapproval when an opposing team makes a score. This shows a lack of sportsmanship and a disrespect for all who enjoy the game.
This bad behavior should not be tolerated in homes, schools or churches. It is not acceptable because some politicians get away with it.
We are responsible for our behavior. Where are our manners?
Tony Gardner, Mineola
Accountants and artists
If the Egyptians were accountants, would we still have the pyramids?
If the Chinese were accountants, would we still have the terracotta army?
If the Greeks were accountants, would we still have the Parthenon?
Don’t let accountants raze Dallas’ aspiring architectural heritage. Preserve I.M. Pei’s acclaimed Dallas City Hall.
David W. Matula, Dallas
He was hit by a car
As a teenager walking to school, I was in a school crosswalk when I was hit by a speeding car. Unlike the ICE agent in Minneapolis, I did not murder the driver of the car. I was transported to a Dallas hospital where I was kept overnight for observation.
Unlike in Minnesota, the accident was investigated by the Dallas Police, and the president never mentioned it.
Donald Wright, Lake Dallas
You voted for this
There is a lot of talk about what’s happening in Minnesota: the militarized ICE grabbing and dragging and of course killing without compunction. “This is not what they voted for,” many say.
Yes it is. What is forgotten is the border policy in President Donald Trump’s first administration. Splitting families apart and caging asylum-seekers. You voted for this cruelty!
Claire Dewar, Dallas/Greenway Parks
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