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Solutions for Sandbranch & Deconstructing Environmental Racism

DALLAS WEEKLY MAGAZINE — Last year, DW reported on the ongoing fight for clean water in Sandbranch. As the issue has been repeatedly dismissed or forgotten by both current District 3 County Commissioner John Wylie Price and Texan politicians at large, political newcomer and candidate Derek Avery is taking part in a new charge to secure funding for infrastructure for the historic freedman’s town.
The post Solutions for Sandbranch & Deconstructing Environmental Racism first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

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2 years ago

March 26, 2024

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By Sam Judy | Dallas Weekly News

Last year, DW reported on the ongoing fight for clean water in Sandbranch. As the issue has been repeatedly dismissed or forgotten by both current District 3 County Commissioner John Wylie Price and Texan politicians at large, political newcomer and candidate Derek Avery is taking part in a new charge to secure funding for infrastructure for the historic freedman’s town. Likened to other Black communities across the country like Flint and Jackson, Sandbranch’s story is one of environmental racism in Dallas County.

In early March, donated water and food were distributed at Wayside Missionary Baptist Church in Sandbranch. The town has not had drinkable water since its well was contaminated over four decades ago.

Volunteers unload food donations for the residents of Sandbranch. Derek Avery and others unloaded pallets of water for residents as well.

Previously holding a population of over 500, numbers dwindled down to 400 in the early 2000’s, and then around 100 by 2010. The vast majority of Sandbranch’s population have fallen off in the past decades, either succumbing to old age or displacement as a result of harsher living conditions. Property taxes in Sandbranch have risen by 2531%.

The distribution comes a week after a community meeting to discuss plans to bring water to the historic Black town with a population of around 40 residents. Now, the community is working with various entities in civil engineering, the nonprofit sector, and the political sphere to ensure that Sandbranch is revitalized.

“This is a human rights issue. However, when you have four or five different groups saying they’re working for Sandbranch, what government alphabet soup is going to give us money? We’ve got to come together here in the community,” a community member says. “Until we get the Water Board, the Water Coalition, everyone to come together, we’re not going to get anything done.”

Healthy skepticism from the community was tangible during the meeting. And as residents spoke, the full weight of the challenges that they face began to take shape in the small Baptist church. Candidate Derek Avery took questions from the community with support from his civil engineer and advisor on the project, Logan Ortiz, to offer a clearer perspective of Sandbranch’s potential future. A major focus of the meeting: dismantling the established notion that there is no tenable solution to Sandbranch’s lack of drinkable water

“Because we’re in a floodplain, we can’t adversely impact the base flood elevation. So, the soil we remove in laying the pipelines would need to be disposed of.” Civil Engineer Logan Ortiz says. “We’d need to identify that soil for any contaminants, as well. […] And if there’s a bond available for a contaminant we find, that’s a green light and a slam dunk.”

Located in Unincorporated Dallas County near Seagoville, the incumbent County Commissioner of District 3 John Wylie Price has offered a singular solution for the residents of Sandbranch. Dallas County offers a buyout of $5000 for properties in the town, but most residents who have been displaced have been left with less than $500 after demolition costs. Regardless, the community has largely rejected this as an answer, pushing for infrastructure that can be typically expected by a taxpaying resident of Dallas County.

Community members spoke at the meeting as well, including Dallas activist Olinka Green, a former Black Panther/New Panther supporting the people of Sandbranch.

“Talking to the people of the community, they said that it has never flooded as long as they’ve been living there,” Green says. She also explained that many properties were placed in a land trust as owners were forced off property after failing to pay expenses to upshore houses due to the area’s classification as a floodplain. Additionally, the community has stated it has been defrauded by organizations claiming to fundraise for Sandbranch.

“And you have a lot of people in the community that have mistrust, because you have organizations that have come into Sandbranch and said they were going to do certain things. There has been money given for the people of Sandbranch, they never saw that money. These people haven’t been treated with respect.”

An area designated as a floodplain is typically under the consequence of environmental racism. As Black communities across the country suffer infrastructure issues due to increased risk of flooding, such as those in areas like Princeville, N.C. or Uniontown, Ala., classifications on the lack of overall viability are usually overstated. Workarounds exist, and specific approaches in civil engineering are present to ensure infrastructure can be provided. The highest hurdle for a town like Sandbranch is evoking sufficient political will.

“I’ve spoken to FEMA, and the biggest myth that’s told is that you can’t build in Sandbranch,” Avery says. “You don’t have to build above the base water, you can build pipelines and work around the environmental factors with different engineering approaches […] A floodplain is a common concept in environmental racism. This is definitely a problem of political will.”

When addressing environmental racism in Sandbranch, David Marquis of Dallas Water Commons gave further context:

“People who suffer the most environmentally are people of color. With a place like Sandbranch, part of the issue is simply the fact that the water most available to them is contaminated water,” Marquis says. “We have to acknowledge there’s been so much illegal dumping of so many different things in Southern Dallas for so long. There’s 63 square miles of unincorporated land in Southeast Dallas. People have dumped everything from tires to pollutants into the Trinity River. And water moves, it travels. We know that’s been a dumping ground for a long time.”

Additionally, many worry that Sandbranch is under threat of gentrification. As climate change has accelerated in recent years, Black communities around the country see increased risk of flooding. While sectors of West Dallas received levies to decrease flood risk, these developments overlapped with gentrification of the area in the last decades. The area’s current status as a floodplain leaving the area subject of restrictive regulation, residents are hoping developing infrastructure will lead to real community revitalization rather than further displacement.

“There’s three real options with regard to the water,” Civil Engineer Logan Ortiz says.“You could create a closed-loop system; we would do an environmental assessment to determine what that contamination is, and we’d find a location here and [establish] a water treatment facility, you’d be recycling the water that you use; you could run to an adjacent aquaphor in a different city, put in a water tower, and pay for water; or you can tap into the city.”

As tapping into city water would be most sensible, residents and members of the Water Board and Water Coalition have pledged support for candidate Derek Avery’s campaign, which names bringing water to the freedmen’s town as a key stance. Avery estimates a total cost of $12.5 million, with $8 million allocated for the project itself and $4.5 million set aside to cover residents’ water bills for 10 years.

The post Solutions for Sandbranch & Deconstructing Environmental Racism first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

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2026 Lucid Air Grand Touring Review — Is This $136K EV Sedan Worth It?

AUTONETWORK ON BLACKPRESSUSA — Finished in Stellar White Metallic with the Tahoe Grand Touring interior, this Lucid makes a strong first impression. The shape is sleek and low, but it still feels elegant instead of trying too hard. Features like soft-close doors, powered illuminated door handles, 20-inch Aero Lite wheels, and the Glass Canopy Roof help the car feel expensive before you even start it.

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1 week ago

May 3, 2026

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The 2026 Lucid Air Grand Touring is the kind of luxury EV that makes people stop and ask a simple question: Is this really better than a Tesla Model S, Mercedes EQS, or BMW i7? At $136,150, it has to do more than look futuristic. It has to feel special every time you get in it.

Finished in Stellar White Metallic with the Tahoe Grand Touring interior, this Lucid makes a strong first impression. The shape is sleek and low, yet it still feels elegant rather than trying too hard. Features like soft-close doors, powered illuminated door handles, 20-inch Aero Lite wheels, and the Glass Canopy Roof help the car feel expensive before you even start it.

Inside is where the Air Grand Touring really makes its case. The 34-inch Glass Cockpit Display and retractable Pilot Panel screen give the cabin a clean, modern look that still feels different from other EVs. The Tahoe Extended Leather and Lucid Black Alcantara headliner lifts the sense of occasion, and the front seats are a highlight. They are 20-way power-adjustable, heated, ventilated, and include massage. That matters because luxury buyers at this price expect comfort first.

Rear passengers are not ignored either. You get 5-zone heated rear seating, a rear center console display, and power rear and rear side window sunshades. Add in the Surreal Sound Pro system with 21 speakers, and the Air feels like a true long-distance luxury sedan.

Lucid also gives this car serious EV hardware. The dual-motor all-wheel-drive system, 900V+ charging architecture, and Wunderbox onboard charger are big talking points. Buyers in this segment care about range, charging speed, and everyday ease, not just raw performance. That is where the Lucid continues to stand out.

On the technology side, the Air Grand Touring includes DreamDrive Premium, with 3D Surround View Monitoring, Blind Spot Warning, Automatic Park In and Out, Automatic Emergency Braking, and a Driver Monitoring System with distracted and drowsy driver alerts. This one also has DreamDrive Pro, which adds future-capable ADAS hardware.

There are still some real-world annoyances. Based on your notes, the windshield wiper control is hard to find and use, and that matters more than people think in a high-tech car. When controls become less intuitive, even a beautiful interior can feel frustrating.

Still, the 2026 Lucid Air Grand Touring succeeds where it matters most. It feels luxurious, advanced, comfortable, and thoughtfully engineered. For buyers who want an EV sedan that feels truly premium and less common than the usual choices, this Lucid makes a very strong case.

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Snoop Dogg Celebrates 10 Til’ Midnight at the Compound

LOS ANGELES SENTINEL — The album is paired with a film that stars Snoop Dogg, Hitta J3, G Perico, and Ray Vaughn, and one of the strongest elements of the whole project is that the production stayed rooted right here in Los Angeles.

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May 3, 2026

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Snoop Dogg celebrated the premiere of 10 Til’ Midnight at his Inglewood recording studio & multipurpose facility, The Compound, but the night felt like much more than an album release. It felt like Los Angeles. It felt like legacy. And it felt like another major move from one of the city’s greatest cultural architects as he continues to prove that he is not just dropping music — he is building moments, shaping narratives, and pushing the culture forward in real time.

What made the event so powerful was the clarity behind the vision. During a panel conversation with DJ Hed, Snoop opened up about the heart behind 10 Til’ Midnight, explaining that the project was created to help bridge older and younger generations while also speaking to the long-standing divisions between Bloods and Crips in a unique way through film. That alone gave the project a different kind of weight. This was not just about songs. This was about using creativity as a tool for connection. This was about taking a story rooted in Los Angeles and telling it in a way that could bring people together.

Snoop Congratulated By Rapper & Fellow 10 Til Midnight Cast Member G Perico (CreativeLB/KreativeKapturez)

The album is paired with a film that stars Snoop Dogg, Hitta J3, G Perico, and Ray Vaughn, and one of the strongest elements of the whole project is that the production stayed rooted right here in Los Angeles. The film was shot in the city, including at WePlay Studios in Inglewood, which gave the entire project an even deeper hometown feel. It was not just a West Coast story in content — it was a Los Angeles-made production from the ground up.

That matters because, in a city like this, authenticity still carries weight. Snoop understands how to make sure that what he creates does not just represent Los Angeles on the surface, but actually comes from it.

What also makes 10 Til’ Midnight significant is that it represents another major step in Snoop’s evolution as both an artist and executive. Public reporting around the project identifies it as his 22nd studio album, but the bigger story is what it represents in this season of his life. This is one of several consecutive moves he has made in his 50s that show he is still building, still expanding, and still finding new ways to reinvent what the next chapter looks like.

Snoop Dogg at the Premiere of 10 Til Midnight (CreativeLB/KreativeKapturez)

Now, as the head of Death Row Records and the newly aligned leader of Death Row Pictures, he is taking the brand into a new dimension. That is what made this moment feel bigger than music. Snoop is not just protecting the legacy of Death Row — he is stretching it. He is expanding it beyond records and into film, visual storytelling, and larger creative worlds that can continue carrying the label’s impact forward. Public reporting has noted that this project arrives as part of that broader cinematic push.

That is a major Los Angeles move because the city has always been built on the intersection of music, film, neighborhood identity, and cultural storytelling. With 10 Til’ Midnight, Snoop is leaning all the way into that intersection.

The room at The Compound reflected that. It felt like a private premiere, but it also felt like a statement — a reminder that Snoop Dogg’s staying power has never been based only on nostalgia. It comes from his ability to remain connected, remain visionary, and remain in tune with how to move the culture without losing the essence of who he is.

That is why this premiere mattered. It was not just about celebrating another album. It was about witnessing a Los Angeles legend continue to evolve, continue to unify, and continue to use art to tell stories that hit deeper than entertainment alone.

In that sense, 10 Til’ Midnight became more than a project launch. It became another example of how Snoop Dogg is still taking Los Angeles to the next level — using music, film, and legacy together to build something bigger than a moment.

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OP-ED: Small Businesses Need Minnesota to Act on Pass-Through Tax Policy

MINNESOTA SPOKESMAN RECORDER — A Twin Cities immigrant entrepreneur who built several businesses including grocery stores in underserved neighborhoods is calling on Minnesota lawmakers to extend the Pass-Through Entity tax option before it expires, warning that its loss would hit small businesses already recovering from Operation Metro Surge with higher federal tax bills.

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May 3, 2026

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A Twin Cities Small Business Owner Is Urging Minnesota to Extend a Tax Policy That Could Save Thousands of Businesses

By Daniel Hernandez | Minnesota Spokesman Recorder

I came to the United States as a teenager with a clear goal: to build something meaningful through hard work. I put in long days in construction, restaurants, and landscaping; doing whatever it took to learn, save, and eventually start my own business.

Over time, I built and ran several successful ventures, including an event photography company, a magazine, a tax and accounting firm, and now grocery stores serving neighborhoods across the Twin Cities where other retailers chose not to invest. I’ve created jobs, supported families, and committed to communities that deserve stability and opportunity.

That’s why I’m speaking out now.

Small business owners in Minneapolis and the communities we serve are recovering from serious disruptions, including the impacts of Operation Metro Surge. That event hit immigrant communities especially hard. In my own case, I lost nearly half of my 60 employees and saw revenue drop by about 85%. While I worked to provide competitive wages, health benefits, and paid time off, the real hardship fell on the people who lost their jobs and income.

Even as we rebuild, small businesses are facing another challenge. The Minnesota Legislature is considering letting an important tax policy expire: the Pass-Through Entity tax option.

Here’s what that means in plain terms.

Many small businesses, including mine, are pass-through businesses. That means the business itself doesn’t pay income tax. Instead, the owners report the income on their personal tax returns. But under current federal rules, there’s a limit on how much state tax we can deduct. That often leads to higher federal tax bills.

The Pass-Through Entity option fixes that. It allows the business to pay the state tax directly, which means the business can fully deduct those taxes on its federal return and lower the total amount of income taxed federally. The result is straightforward: small business owners pay less in federal taxes, without reducing what the state collects.

This policy is not new or controversial. Thirty-six states already offer it. It doesn’t cost Minnesota anything, it’s revenue neutral. And it benefits more than 66,000 businesses across the state.

In a state where the cost of doing business is already high, it’s hard to understand why we wouldn’t offer the same basic tax treatment as states like California and Illinois.

Small businesses have carried a heavy load in recent years, through a pandemic, rising costs and public safety disruptions. We’ve adapted, reinvested and stayed committed to our communities. What we need now are practical policies that support that work, not make it harder.

If the Minnesota House does not act soon, many businesses will face significantly higher federal tax bills. That’s money that could otherwise be used to hire workers, raise wages or reinvest in local neighborhoods.

I urge Gov. Tim Walz and members of the House Tax Committee to pass House File 3127 and extend the Pass-Through Entity election.

Small businesses are the backbone of our communities. We’ve proven our resilience. Now we need our state leaders to show the same commitment to us.

Daniel Hernandez is the owner of Colonial Market located at 2100 E. Lake St.

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