Dallas housing voucher concerns, UNT hero to fight fires: Your weekend roundup

Good morning! Here is a look at the top headlines of the weekend so far.  [Morning roundup]( 01/27/2019 By Todd Davis Good morning! Here is a look at the top headlines of the weekend so far. 🌞 Weather: Plenty of sunshine and a high of 63, with a 10% chance of precipitation out there somewhere. 🔎 Prefer the online view? It's [here.]( Alfred Lee, 3, stands by his grandmother Dionne Lee during a press conference at Bryan Song Apartments on Jan. 15 in Dallas. ( Ryan Michalesko / Staff Photographer) SHUTDOWN [Dallas housing voucher holders, landlords live in uncertainty even after shutdown]( Housing advocates expressed relief Friday after President Donald Trump agreed to reopen the government for three weeks, potentially averting a crisis for programs that help low-income families make rent. Dallas-area landlords and others had warned this week that a prolonged shutdown would cause funding to dry up for housing programs that support seniors, veterans, disabled people and other vulnerable tenants. Still, uncertainty remains about whether the Housing and Urban Development Department will have enough time to renew hundreds of contracts with landlords by Feb. 15 — and whether lawmakers will provide the funding to back them. The big question, said Texas Tenants’ Union Executive Director Sandy Rollins, is: "[Can you fit more than a month of work in a three-week period?]( 'We will get open': For Texas small businesses, [government shutdown impact will linger](. 'Just get the mayors in town': [Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price winded up at the White House]( as the shutdown ended. ADVERTISEMENT POLITICS [When Texas House's powerful committee slots were assigned, who came out on top?]( The Texas House is off to the races after Speaker Dennis Bonnen announced his new committee assignments this week. The decisions, which Bonnen had said would be the "hardest thing" he’d have to do as speaker, lay out the chamber’s pecking order. The speaker’s allies are often tapped to lead high-ranking committees that control state funds, oversee state agencies, control what bills get moved to the floor and draft the state’s tax policies. Now that the dust has settled, [here’s a look at who won big and who lost out]( according to a group of experts interviewed by The Dallas Morning News. And: About 58,000 non-citizens have cast ballots in state elections since 1996, [says Texas' top election official](. 'Ticking time bomb': [Texas companies are reeling from Trump's sprawling trade war]( even amid a tariff truce. (Shaban Athuman/ Staff Photographer) PHOTO OF THE WEEKEND [Volunteers scour Dallas to count homeless]( Ikenna Mogbo, housing and veterans services outpatient operations manager at Metrocare, drives his route during the annual homeless count in Dallas on Thursday. [Each year, the city participates in a federally required effort to document the homeless population nationwide.]( Led by the Metro Dallas Homeless Alliance, about 1,500 volunteers joined in the count. They searched behind businesses, in cars, in alleyways and under interstate overpasses in Dallas and Collin counties. Hundreds of volunteers in Tarrant County conducted a count Thursday night, as well. "It's the one time of year that we actually go out and we comprehensively count all the folks on the street, and those folks that are harder to keep track of," said David Gruber, development and communications director for MDHA. AROUND THE SITE - Courts: A lawsuit alleges that [the Dallas Catholic Diocese]( mishandled a report of a priest's sexual abuse. - Crime: [A teenager tied up in a pickup]( may have been the victim of vigilantes, Fort Worth police say. - On board: Jaime Resendez will remain on the Dallas ISD school board, [though it's unclear for how long](. - No more No. 29s: The Rangers will retire [Adrian Beltre's jersey number]( this summer. FINALLY... [Keegan Brewer, a North Texas football hero, to become a firefighter]( Sports columnist Kevin Sherrington writes: Peter Pan is now a firefighter, at least come Feb. 15, when he completes his final training for the Frisco Fire Department. His new pals down at the station may know him as Keegan Brewer, but college football fans in perpetuity will know him by his alter ego. [Who could forget the hero of 2018's most entertaining play called "Peter Pan" by the special teams coach]( North Texas fans won't. Chad Morris, either. Brewer fields a short pooch punt at the 10-yard line of Razorback Stadium and poses like a man waiting on a bus. And there he goes, on a 90-yard flight of fantasy, fooling players, coaches, broadcasters and fans alike. Just a sophomore in terms of football eligibility, he has two seasons left if he wants them. But he graduates in May, and it's time to go. 👋 That's all for this morning! For up-to-the-minute news and analysis, check out [DallasNews.com](. Share the love! If you like this newsletter, please forward this email to a friend and [check out our other newsletters here](. Do you have feedback? Send your thoughts, questions, praise and corrections to [newsletter-feedback@dallasnews.com](mailto:newsletter-feedback@dallasnews.com?subject=). 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