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Dallas Has Completed 23 Historic Preservation Projects Since 2002, The Most In The State

Five stories that have North Texas talking: Austin and Dallas are looking for a new police chief and city manager at the same time; “Mexican American Heritage” isn’t the first inaccurate textbook written for Texas classrooms; tonight's State of the Arts will trace Fort Worth’s musical history; and more.

Dallas leads the state in historic preservation projects, according to a new report from the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The report looks at preservation projects in Texas between 2002 and 2015 that were funded with federal historic tax credits. During this time, 126 preservation projects were completed in the state, 23 of them in Dallas. The projects in Dallas totaled just under $371 million in value, the report found. The biggest projects in the city included the Fidelity Union Life Tower on Pacific Avenue (now Mosaic Dallas apartments) at $86 million and the Continental Building on Commerce Street, totaling $37.2 million. See which historic buildings are still considered endangered in Dallas and Texas. [National Trust for Historic Preservation, The Dallas Morning News]

  • Now, Austin and Dallas are both looking for new city managers and police chiefs. In Dallas, Police Chief David Brown retired last month after 33 years on the force, and A.C. Gonzalez in May announced plans to step as City Manager this January. In Austin, City Manager Marc Ott left his post in October for a new job in Washington D.C. And on Thursday, Austin Police Chief Art Acevedo, who has served as in his role since 2007, announced he’s moving on to lead the nation’s fifth largest police department in Houston. [KERA News, The Texas Tribune]

 

  • Texas has a history of non-historians writing textbooks on Texas history. The Texas State Board of Education takes a final vote today on whether to reject the controversial “Mexican American Heritage” textbook that critics say is riddled with error. As KUT’s Nathan Bernier reports, this isn’t the first time the state has considered an inaccurate textbook to be used in Texas classrooms. Bernier got a hold of a seventh-grade Texas history textbook from 1954, and asked several experts to review it. [KUT]

 

  • During Billy Lynn’s long halftime walk, we learn a lot about his life. He’s a 19-year-old war hero from Iraq being honored at a Dallas Cowboys Thanksgiving game. He’s also the fictional protagonist of Dallas writer Ben Fountain’s novel, “Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk” and now the Ang Lee-directed film by the same name. This week, The Big Screen team talks about how the film captures one soldier’s surreal experience coming back from war. [Art&Seek]

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  • A panel of artists, experts and scholars will explore the history of Fort Worth music during tonight’s State of the Arts. The free event takes place 6 p.m. at the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth. Panelists will discuss Fort Worth’s musical history from its roots in a vibrant jazz scene and the Bluebird Blues Club to a diverse community represented by venues like Shipping and Receiving, the Live Oak and Bass Hall. Here are more event details. [Art&Seek]