UPDATE 17-December: Council Member Kadane Issues Retraction and Clarification

Last Friday, in what is being called "a reminder to [...] neighbors to be careful," Dallas City Council Member Sheffie Kadane sent this email to many of his District 9 constituents titled: Please review 'Channel 5 news just had a segment on about these 4 instances at North Park Mall'.

Since then, the email has enjoyed rapid circulation throughout the city.

The problem is: there appears to be no truth to the warning.

Kadane apparently fell victim to this 4-year old internet hoax. And even though it appears to inappropriately target NorthPark Mall, officials in Kadane's office refuse to correct it.

The town hall meeting at Bryan Adams High School was a breath of fresh air. None of the protesters, who threatened to disrupt it, did so.

The biggest thing that struck me was: this was a different Michael Hinojosa. He was calm, patient, took the hard questions and didn't talk down to people who put him on the hot seat.

Hinojosa indicated that these town hall meetings would be happening across the city--and would continue.

No questions are off-limits.

Overall, DISD's "stock" climbed a few points last night.

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WFAA: More Questionable Spending Uncovered at DISD

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Last Spring Reporter Extraordinaire Lori Stahl (DMN) raised questions about the Dallas Independent School District's somewhat cozy arrangements with companies whose leaders work for the District.

Specifically, the article questioned the District's relationship with TD Industries and its chairman, Jack Lowe, who serves as president of the School Board.

We have compiled what is, in essence, DISD's "checkbook" for payments made to TD Industries over the past 2 1/2 years.

Though information is somewhat sparse, as the District appears not to capture many details of specific transactions, some of what we found surprised us.