DALLAS — Dallas has requested an exception from a directive from Gov. Greg Abbott that cities remove rainbow crosswalks and other pavement designs that have "political" or ideological messaging. It's a move that could preserve the rainbow crosswalks along Cedar Springs Road in Dallas' Oak Lawn neighborhood.

Gov. Greg Abbott issued the directive last month that instructed the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) to ensure cities and counties remove “any and all political ideologies from our streets.” Abbott said the move is intended to keep roads “safe and free from distraction” and warned that cities that don't comply are at risk of losing state or federal transportation funding.

Dallas City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert's request to the TxDOT argues that safety data for the locations of the impacted crosswalks shows that they haven't presented public safety issues, and removing them would require funds not included in the city's recently passed budget. If the city's request for an exception is denied, the request letter notes that the city asks for a 90-day extension from the date of the denial to implement a plan to remove the crosswalks. 

"The city's decorative crosswalks are a form of government speech, expressing civic values and community identity through design in a manner that is consistent with the city's authority to manage and maintain its streets. The state's demand for removal intrudes on that local authority and raises concerns under the unconstitutional conditions doctrine, as it conditions continuing access to roadway funding on the suppression of lawful municipal expression," Tolbert's letter reads. 

"The city is seeking an exception from the pavement marking standards for decorative crosswalks in the city of Dallas, following the process outlined in the October 8, 2025, letter to the city from the executive director of the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT). The city is also exploring options, including other opportunities for neighborhood identity and beautification efforts," Tolbert added  in a statement. 

The City of San Antonio is also seeking an exception to the order. 

Ahead of Tolbert's statement that the city of Dallas will seek an exception, some had gathered at the crosswalks along Cedar Springs Road to call for their preservation, and LGBTQ+ advocates and some city council members sought to push back against Abbott's order.

"The idea that these crosswalks are a safety concern is unsupported and highly questionable. The real argument Abbott is using against these crosswalks is that they insert "ideology" into public spaces, using tax dollars. This is a bit hypocritical. Isn’t Abbott’s law requiring that the Ten Commandments be displayed in all public schools in Texas the same thing?" Dallas City Council member Paul Ridley previously said. 

Valerie Jackson of the North Texas LGBTQ Chamber of Commerce and Foundation previously said the crosswalks were never meant to be political. 

“We’re increasing the vibrancy of the neighborhood and providing a safe space for a community that’s marginalized,” Jackson said. “The rainbow is for everyone.”

DALLAS — Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson said in a new interview that he expects Dallas to rival New York City as the country's top financial hub and argued a "flood" of people and companies could leave over fears of NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani's policies.

Johnson, a former Democratic state representative who made national headlines as mayor in 2023 after he switched parties to join the GOP, made the prediction in an interview with the New York Post that was published the same day AT&T CEO John Stankey announced the telecom giant will move its global headquarters from Downtown Dallas to Plano.

"What was already a trickle is going to turn into a flood of individuals and companies who have called New York home for a long time, moving to Dallas,” Johnson told the New York Post. "You’re talking about an environment where they’re talking about trying to find new ways to tax people, compared to one where we’re trying to push down the one tax we’ve got, and we don’t have an income tax."

The Post reports Dallas has added 100,000 finance jobs in the last 10 years and has become the second-largest financial services hub in the U.S. Many financial firms have also made moves to increase their presence in Dallas and Texas in the last year. The New York Stock Exchange recently launched NYSE Texas, Nasdaq recently announced plans for Nasdaq Texas, a new dual-listing venue that builds on Nasdaq's expansion in North Texas, and Goldman Sachs and Scotiabank are making big investments here. 

"It’s not inconceivable at all that within a certain number of years, people look back and go, ‘Do you remember back when New York was the financial capital of the United States? Isn’t that weird?'” Johnson added in the interview with the Post. 

His comments came just as AT&T announced plans to move global headquarters from Whitacre Tower in Downtown Dallas, where it's been located since 2008, to 5400 Legacy Drive in Plano, though. 

"Our city’s unique economic strengths are what attracted AT&T to our urban core in 2008, and Dallas has become a global economic powerhouse since then,” Johnson said in a statement after the announcement. "Dallas is a city of opportunity for workers, families, and businesses of all sizes. In recent years, we have worked together to cut violent crime, homelessness, property tax rates, and bureaucratic red tape. We have added $27 billion in new development since 2019 and have more on the way, such as the exciting new Goldman Sachs’ campus and our fast-growing ‘Y’all Street’ financial sector. The future of our city – and of our urban core – is bright, and this departure ultimately will open the door for us to explore new possibilities.”

The future of AT&T's current space at Whitacre Tower remains to be seen. AT&T has a long-term lease there through 2030. 

A recent study commissioned by Downtown Dallas Inc. estimated that property values downtown would decrease 30% if AT&T left, representing a $2.7 billion drop in property value and a $62 million loss in property taxes for the city of Dallas.  

DALLAS — Days after being shot at a Dallas nightclub, local rapper Zecqurie Fields, known as Zeethewizard, died from his injuries, police say.

According to the Dallas Police Department, Fields, one of five people shot during the incident, was taken to a local hospital in critical condition and died Monday.

Fields was among the victims struck by gunfire in the early morning hours of New Year's Day after, according to Dallas police, an "altercation" broke out at the grand opening of a new Northwest Dallas after-hours club called Pink House Dallas.

Zeethewizard had been booked to perform at Pink House Dallas on New Year's as part of its grand opening celebrations. According to his family, he took to the stage shortly before midnight and played to a crowd that included members of his family. After his family left, Fields remained at the club to continue celebrating the holiday. Before arriving at home, however, his family said they received calls about the shooting and immediately returned to the club-turned-crime-scene. 

Dallas police have not announced any arrests in this case and said the investigation remains ongoing.

A close collaborator of platinum record-selling Dallas rapper BigXThaPlug, Fields was part of the “New Dallas” movement, a growing group of young area rappers who are focused on unity and positivity through music and spurning the mindset that has divided the scene in the past.

Dallas activist Davante Peters, who also performs music under the moniker Brotha Shawt, said he felt Zeethewizard's sense of unity firsthand when the two worked together on their recently released collaborative song, "Let Me Find Out (Fanned Out)".

“I know he had a lot more work to do, but he definitely supported me,” Peters said. “He wanted to see me be successful as well, and I really appreciated that.”

Fields' music seems on the brink of major success, too. His reach had just started to extend beyond North Texas, and he was beginning to garner national attention, even reportedly signing a record deal with the label run by the popular rapper Future.

In the summer of 2025, Dallas Observer contributing journalist Bryson “Boom” Paul named Zeethewizard one of the city’s top 20 rappers to watch, calling him “a top prospect in the New Dallas movement." 

DALLAS — Dallas' Landmark Commission on Monday unanimously opted to allow the historic Oak Lawn United Methodist Church to keep its rainbow-colored steps for now. 

The steps will be allowed to remain painted in rainbow colors for three years. 

"The historic architecture is beautiful and should be preserved, but we should also allow and celebrate the city's human character, its community, identity and history, notwithstanding the temporary political climate," said Landmark Commissioner Rosemary Hinojosa just before the vote. 

The church at 3014 Oak Lawn Avenue's steps were painted in rainbow colors this past fall after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's order directing cities to remove rainbow crosswalks and other pavement designs that have "political" or ideological messaging.  Abbott said the move was intended to keep roads “safe and free from distraction” and warned that cities that don't comply are at risk of losing state or federal transportation funding.

Oak Lawn United Methodist Church was designated a Dallas landmark in 1984. Changes to the exterior appearances of landmark-designated properties require approval from the Landmark Commission.

In a statement shared on the church's Facebook page before the commission meeting, church leadership invited people to speak in favor of keeping the rainbow-painted steps at the Landmark Commission meeting at 1 p.m. Jan. 5 at Dallas City Hall. 

“Silence is not neutral,” said Senior Pastor Rev. Rachel Griffin-Allison in the statement. “Painting our steps in the colors of the rainbow is a visible witness to the gospel we preach—that every person is created in the image of God and worthy of safety, dignity, and belonging.”

According to the Landmark Commission meeting agenda, staff recommended that the painted steps be approved as a temporary art installation, while a task force recommended they be denied, saying they don't comply with city code regarding paint color changes.

The City of Dallas in November requested an exception from Abbott's directive.

Dallas City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert's request to the TxDOT argues that safety data for the locations of the impacted crosswalks shows that they haven't presented public safety issues, and removing them would require funds not included in the city's recently passed budget. If the city's request for an exception is denied, the request letter notes that the city asks for a 90-day extension from the date of the denial to implement a plan to remove the crosswalks. 

"The city's decorative crosswalks are a form of government speech, expressing civic values and community identity through design in a manner that is consistent with the city's authority to manage and maintain its streets. The state's demand for removal intrudes on that local authority and raises concerns under the unconstitutional conditions doctrine, as it conditions continuing access to roadway funding on the suppression of lawful municipal expression," Tolbert's letter reads.