Matt Goodman
@goodmoine.bsky.social
Co-founder and editor of The Lab Report Dallas, independent journalism from the Child Poverty Action Lab. Previously @dmagazine.bsky.social. On notepads I scribble. matt(at)labreportdallas.com
Yesterday's City Hall vote remains weird. Why is Councilman Ridley's idea not the first thing done? "One stipulation called for city officials to focus primarily on getting an independent facility condition assessment of City Hall before considering relocation." www.dallasnews.com/news/politic...
I.M. Pei’s Dallas City Hall at risk after City Council votes to explore alternatives
The Dallas City Council voted Wednesday to formally explore alternatives to the current City Hall building designed by I.M. Pei, with City Manager Kimberly...
www.dallasnews.com
November 13, 2025 at 4:10 PM
Yesterday's City Hall vote remains weird. Why is Councilman Ridley's idea not the first thing done? "One stipulation called for city officials to focus primarily on getting an independent facility condition assessment of City Hall before considering relocation." www.dallasnews.com/news/politic...
Mayor Eric Johnson finally whipped some votes. (And Bethany's story is a must-read on how the Dallas City Council and its police department rebuffed ICE.)
And here is the link to that piece about the City Council briefing on the 287(g) program.
www.dmagazine.com/frontburner/...
www.dmagazine.com/frontburner/...
ICE Came to Dallas City Hall. It Did Not Go Well for ICE.
Mayor Eric Johnson’s insistence that the City Council discuss whether the police should be involved in a controversial federal immigration program may have had an unintended consequence: a fractious b...
www.dmagazine.com
November 7, 2025 at 4:53 PM
Mayor Eric Johnson finally whipped some votes. (And Bethany's story is a must-read on how the Dallas City Council and its police department rebuffed ICE.)
AND the mayor is missing from the meeting he called.
The joint committee meeting, called by Mayor Eric Johnson, is now hearing from public speakers -- nearly every one opposed to this partnership. Said one speaker, "Eric Johnson is not known for making good decisions for our city." Council discussion to follow.
dallastx.new.swagit.com/views/113
dallastx.new.swagit.com/views/113
November 6, 2025 at 4:14 PM
AND the mayor is missing from the meeting he called.
Starbucks is coming to South Dallas. But the real story is why the nonprofit leading the overhaul of the Forest Theater believed the national brand to be its best neighbor. @sharongrigsby.bsky.social on a new approach for economic development in the Sunny South: labreportdallas.com/p/why-starbu...
Why Starbucks is Coming to South Dallas
The story of how Forest Forward came to understand the significance of inviting a national chain into its ambitious redevelopment of the Forest Theater.
labreportdallas.com
November 6, 2025 at 3:51 PM
Starbucks is coming to South Dallas. But the real story is why the nonprofit leading the overhaul of the Forest Theater believed the national brand to be its best neighbor. @sharongrigsby.bsky.social on a new approach for economic development in the Sunny South: labreportdallas.com/p/why-starbu...
Reposted by Matt Goodman
IDK guys, I kind of feel like we're operating on someone else's timeline on this. Yes, it's true the discussion about deferred maintenance of 1500 Marilla has been going on for years, but the suddeness of the "we could just tear it down" talk seems basketball shaped.
It really is sounding like people have a real zeal for ripping down City Hall.
November 3, 2025 at 10:09 PM
IDK guys, I kind of feel like we're operating on someone else's timeline on this. Yes, it's true the discussion about deferred maintenance of 1500 Marilla has been going on for years, but the suddeness of the "we could just tear it down" talk seems basketball shaped.
From Councilman Chad West's email newsletter, about Dallas' efforts to keep the Mavericks and Stars in town. I thought we literally had The Sports Mayor?
October 30, 2025 at 2:23 PM
From Councilman Chad West's email newsletter, about Dallas' efforts to keep the Mavericks and Stars in town. I thought we literally had The Sports Mayor?
A DART board member tells me Farmers Branch and Highland Park will also discuss holding withdrawal elections from the agency. Much of the broader coverage has focused on the suburbs itching to bail. Here's a profile of a group fighting to keep—and improve—DART. labreportdallas.com/p/dart-s-big...
October 29, 2025 at 5:56 PM
A DART board member tells me Farmers Branch and Highland Park will also discuss holding withdrawal elections from the agency. Much of the broader coverage has focused on the suburbs itching to bail. Here's a profile of a group fighting to keep—and improve—DART. labreportdallas.com/p/dart-s-big...
Of all the things going on at City Hall, I'll never understand Dallas' seemingly random insistence on enforcing ticky tack rules that make it harder to run small businesses. www.dmagazine.com/micropost/th...
The Free Man, Reveler’s Hall say city demanded they quit charging a cover for live music
Despite being in business for years and offering live music for just as long, the owners of two businesses, one in Deep Ellum and another in Oak Cliff's Bishop Arts District, say the city recently inf...
www.dmagazine.com
October 21, 2025 at 6:54 PM
Of all the things going on at City Hall, I'll never understand Dallas' seemingly random insistence on enforcing ticky tack rules that make it harder to run small businesses. www.dmagazine.com/micropost/th...
"The city, it should be noted, had no problem spending $140 million to restore the Cotton Bowl, a building that essentially hosts one marquee event per year."
Friends: Please join me in the fight to save Dallas City Hall. Spread the word.
www.dallasnews.com/arts-enterta...
www.dallasnews.com/arts-enterta...
Lamster: Keep your hands off Dallas City Hall
Why demolishing I. M. Pei’s iconic building would be a financial boondoggle and an architectural travesty.
www.dallasnews.com
October 16, 2025 at 2:36 PM
"The city, it should be noted, had no problem spending $140 million to restore the Cotton Bowl, a building that essentially hosts one marquee event per year."
🧵In Dallas and 18 other cities, the Texas Legislature has made it legal for developers to build multifamily or mixed-use projects on any land zoned commercial, retail, office, or warehouse without a zoning change. Like here, on Columbia Ave. in East Dallas.
September 5, 2025 at 5:51 PM
🧵In Dallas and 18 other cities, the Texas Legislature has made it legal for developers to build multifamily or mixed-use projects on any land zoned commercial, retail, office, or warehouse without a zoning change. Like here, on Columbia Ave. in East Dallas.
Next Thursday! This is going to be a lot of fun. (also, "may" LOL)
and if you're free *next* Thursday I will be helping welcome @passionweiss.bsky.social to Big D for his book talk alongside @goodmoine.bsky.social at Interabang ! It's gonna be a good time and we may even decamp out of preston hollow afterwards...
August 20, 2025 at 9:45 PM
Next Thursday! This is going to be a lot of fun. (also, "may" LOL)
Dobie Pre-K will soon be a hub for services in Esperanza. To understand the significance of local government finally paying attention here, @kellixsmith.bsky.social spent weeks with residents to learn about resilience and community in this pocket of North Dallas. labreportdallas.com/p/esperanza-...
In North Dallas, a New Future in a Shuttered School
County officials are finally paying close attention to the Esperanza neighborhood in Far North Dallas, beginning with a new vision for Dobie Pre-K.
labreportdallas.com
August 20, 2025 at 8:18 PM
Dobie Pre-K will soon be a hub for services in Esperanza. To understand the significance of local government finally paying attention here, @kellixsmith.bsky.social spent weeks with residents to learn about resilience and community in this pocket of North Dallas. labreportdallas.com/p/esperanza-...
Reposted by Matt Goodman
Do this in front of Dallas City Hall
Paris has removed the paving from its city hall square and transformed it into an urban forest. Stunning! 🤩
August 20, 2025 at 6:46 PM
Do this in front of Dallas City Hall
Come for the arson, stay to better understand subsidizing affordable housing in Dallas. labreportdallas.com/p/the-contro...
The Controversial Art of Building More Housing
A pair of public-private tools are driving the production of most new affordable housing in Dallas. So why is Dallas City Hall growing concerned?
labreportdallas.com
August 6, 2025 at 7:58 PM
Come for the arson, stay to better understand subsidizing affordable housing in Dallas. labreportdallas.com/p/the-contro...
🧵 Fourish months ago, @sharongrigsby.bsky.social and I holed up in essentially a glass-doored closet and talked at each other until we could see the shape of a new publication. The Lab Report has a ways to go—website (the design rips), social accounts (yikes)—but we’re now running stories.
July 18, 2025 at 6:13 PM
🧵 Fourish months ago, @sharongrigsby.bsky.social and I holed up in essentially a glass-doored closet and talked at each other until we could see the shape of a new publication. The Lab Report has a ways to go—website (the design rips), social accounts (yikes)—but we’re now running stories.
We are very pro things-that-are-good-for-Dallas: labreportdallas.com
June 2, 2025 at 9:20 PM
We are very pro things-that-are-good-for-Dallas: labreportdallas.com
We're building something new over here, and I'm so excited to have Kelli with us. If you care about compelling local journalism that isn't boring, we're launching this for Dallas later this summer. Sign up here: labreportdallas.com
June 2, 2025 at 9:09 PM
We're building something new over here, and I'm so excited to have Kelli with us. If you care about compelling local journalism that isn't boring, we're launching this for Dallas later this summer. Sign up here: labreportdallas.com
Reposted by Matt Goodman
Hey there,
Since the Fort Worth Star-Telegram hired me 8 months ago, I've been able to write about Palestine-Israel and its relation to the lives of everyday Americans with conviction. Freedom is a privilege I suspect most mainstream newspaper writers don't receive, and I don't take it lightly. 🧵
Since the Fort Worth Star-Telegram hired me 8 months ago, I've been able to write about Palestine-Israel and its relation to the lives of everyday Americans with conviction. Freedom is a privilege I suspect most mainstream newspaper writers don't receive, and I don't take it lightly. 🧵
May 29, 2025 at 8:28 PM
Hey there,
Since the Fort Worth Star-Telegram hired me 8 months ago, I've been able to write about Palestine-Israel and its relation to the lives of everyday Americans with conviction. Freedom is a privilege I suspect most mainstream newspaper writers don't receive, and I don't take it lightly. 🧵
Since the Fort Worth Star-Telegram hired me 8 months ago, I've been able to write about Palestine-Israel and its relation to the lives of everyday Americans with conviction. Freedom is a privilege I suspect most mainstream newspaper writers don't receive, and I don't take it lightly. 🧵
Feels like it should be more of a local conversation that the city of Dallas is barely growing. Fort Worth has added 84,461 people since July 2020, a 9.1 percent increase. Dallas in that same period: 22,661, or 1.7 percent. Houston grew by 1.8 percent from 23 to 24 alone. Yikes!
New this morning: Fort Worth is now home to 1 million people,
new U.S. Census Bureau data show. DFW is now the only metro area in the U.S. with two cities with 1M people.
But another North Texas city grew faster than anywhere else last year.
www.texastribune.org/2025/05/15/t... @texastribune.org
new U.S. Census Bureau data show. DFW is now the only metro area in the U.S. with two cities with 1M people.
But another North Texas city grew faster than anywhere else last year.
www.texastribune.org/2025/05/15/t... @texastribune.org
The fastest-growing city in the U.S. is in Texas, and it’s not the one you’re thinking of
With Princeton leading the Texas pack, the state continues to set the pace for the rest of the nation, with seven of the 15 fastest-growing cities.
www.texastribune.org
May 15, 2025 at 4:56 PM
Feels like it should be more of a local conversation that the city of Dallas is barely growing. Fort Worth has added 84,461 people since July 2020, a 9.1 percent increase. Dallas in that same period: 22,661, or 1.7 percent. Houston grew by 1.8 percent from 23 to 24 alone. Yikes!
It's taken six years for Dallas to get changes to the parking code in front of City Council, which will happen after lunch. I promise it will not take you that long to read about how requiring so many parking spots in so many places changed how the city developed. www.dmagazine.com/frontburner/...
The City of Dallas Is Putting Parking Spots in Its Crosshairs
The city requires developments provide parking spots based on ratios created in the 1960s. It has been researching what will happen if that changes. How far will Dallas go?
www.dmagazine.com
May 14, 2025 at 5:42 PM
It's taken six years for Dallas to get changes to the parking code in front of City Council, which will happen after lunch. I promise it will not take you that long to read about how requiring so many parking spots in so many places changed how the city developed. www.dmagazine.com/frontburner/...
A week into early voting, I was, lol, the 604th voter at the Oak Cliff Government Center yesterday morning.
From a UC San Diego study published in December: "Few cities had worse turnout than Dallas saw in its 2023 mayoral election, in which only 7.1 percent of registered voters participated.”
Seems optimistic, based on what I saw during my crosstown travels yesterday.
www.dallasnews.com/opinion/comm...
Seems optimistic, based on what I saw during my crosstown travels yesterday.
www.dallasnews.com/opinion/comm...
Wilonsky: Will voter turnout in Dallas be historically low or just abysmally low?
In December, UC San Diego’s Yankelovich Center for Social Science Research published a study of big cities with tiny votes, and of course Dallas came out on...
www.dallasnews.com
April 29, 2025 at 9:18 PM
A week into early voting, I was, lol, the 604th voter at the Oak Cliff Government Center yesterday morning.
Voted early today for Dallas City Council. Turnout is so bad that the election workers thank you like you're a veteran returning from war. Here's @dmagazine.bsky.social's voter guide: www.dmagazine.com/guides/every...
Dallas City Council & School Board Candidate Guide
Everything you need to know about the City Council and School Board candidates, and how they might shape local politics.
www.dmagazine.com
April 28, 2025 at 8:52 PM
Voted early today for Dallas City Council. Turnout is so bad that the election workers thank you like you're a veteran returning from war. Here's @dmagazine.bsky.social's voter guide: www.dmagazine.com/guides/every...
Luka came home last night. @mikelikessports.bsky.social was there, and he has come to punch his city in its collective gut: "This is still Luka Dončić’s city. He just doesn’t live here anymore." www.dmagazine.com/sports/2025/...
Luka Dončić Made the Mavericks Remember Him on His Terms
The Mavericks tried to set the terms for how Doncic's return would go. It didn't quite work. Because he's still Luka Doncic, and Dallas is still his city.
www.dmagazine.com
April 10, 2025 at 4:28 PM
Luka came home last night. @mikelikessports.bsky.social was there, and he has come to punch his city in its collective gut: "This is still Luka Dončić’s city. He just doesn’t live here anymore." www.dmagazine.com/sports/2025/...
Reposted by Matt Goodman
I’m really disappointed in this @politico.com piece. If we’re going to talk about who is writing about DC, we need to talk about WHO is writing about DC, and whether they are good stewards of journalism. 🧵
www.politico.com/news/magazin...
www.politico.com/news/magazin...
A Congresswoman with Dementia Stopped Coming to Work. The DC Press Corps Never Noticed.
Here’s the story behind how the media missed the story.
www.politico.com
March 14, 2025 at 5:01 PM
I’m really disappointed in this @politico.com piece. If we’re going to talk about who is writing about DC, we need to talk about WHO is writing about DC, and whether they are good stewards of journalism. 🧵
www.politico.com/news/magazin...
www.politico.com/news/magazin...