🌱 Rezoning Site Of Former Shingle Mountain + Revamped STAAR Tests

Hello, friends! It's me, Nicole Fallon-Peek, your host of the Dallas Patch newsletter. Let's get this Wednesday started off right with a quick dive into the most important things going on in town these days.

But first, today's weather:

Humid; a strong p.m. t-storm. High: 82 Low: 68.

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Here are the four top stories in Dallas today:

1. Shingle Mountain may be gone, but city officials and residents of the southeast Dallas neighborhood where it once stood are in ongoing talks to work out a new zoning plan. In 2018, Blue Star Recycling Company illegally dumped asphalt shingles in Floral Farms, a neighborhood that is currently zoned for residential, commercial, and industrial uses. Area residents continue to have concerns about heavy industry being located near their homes, and some residents presented a neighborhood plan to the city that would include space for parks, agriculture, and commercial development. Andrea Gilles, the assistant director of Planning and Urban design for the city, said they are reviewing the plan but explained that there is also an adopted plan for the area that must be considered. (Dallas Observer)
2. More than two dozen people were arrested last week in Dallas County in efforts to suppress human trafficking. The Dallas County Sheriff's Office together with North Texas Trafficking Task Force held a two-day sting operation. Twenty-five suspects were arrested on charges of solicitation of prostitution. (Fox 4 News)
3. Students across the state will be taking revamped STAAR tests starting this week. In 2020, state lawmakers authorized changes to the standardized test. Now, the STAAR test has been revised to more closely resemble students' daily classroom work. The tests will now be graded by teachers rather than a computer and will require students to show their work, such as by charting out math problems. (NBCDFW)
4. According to a study by WalletHub, Dallas is the ninth most diverse city in America. The study compared more than 500 cities by diversity across households, religion, socioeconomic status, culture, and economy. Dallas ranked highest for socioeconomic diversity and also ranked highly for religious and cultural diversity. (Fox 4 News)

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Today in Dallas:

• Tails And Tales: Read To Therapy Dogs, At Audelia Road Branch Library (3:30 PM)
• April Paint & Sip: April In Paris, At Coppell Arts Center (6:00 PM)

From my notebook:

• The Dallas Zoo has welcomed a collared lemur baby! The baby was born to second-time lemur parents Heidi and Remy. (Dallas Zoo via Facebook)
• The City of Dallas Planning and Urban Design is inviting comments regarding future land use placetypes. Click here to learn more or leave a comment. (City of Dallas - City Hall via Facebook)
• In case you missed it, The Emmett J. Conrad High School RoboChargers have made history after winning the UIL Robotics State Championship! Students competed against 80 other teams and were named the best in Texas and fifth in the world. (The Hub - Dallas ISD)

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• Improovy Painters Plano — (Visit website)
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Featured events:

• The Mocky Horror Picture Show roasts “Reefer Madness” on 4/20 (April 20)
• Free Zoom meeting about air duct cleaning service in Dallas (April 24)
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That's it for today. I'll catch up with you bright and early tomorrow morning with your next update!

— Nicole Fallon-Peek

About me: Nicole Fallon-Peek is a journalist and copywriter with a degree in Media, Culture and Communication from New York University. She has served as a freelance reporter, managing editor, copy editor, and editorial director for a variety of B2B news outlets. She currently co-owns and operates content creation agency Lightning Media Partners.