Debate over parking lot, Joe Barton scandal, fired Dallas cop: Your weekend roundup

Here is a look at the top headlines of the weekend so far. [Here is a look at the top headlines of the weekend so far.] November 26,  2017 By Holly Rusak Good morning! Here is a look at the top headlines of the weekend so far. ☀️ Weather: [Sunny and pleasant with a high of 70 degrees.]( 🔎 Prefer the online view? It's [here](. (File Photo) parks and recreation Dallas, DISD at odds over plan to turn land near Woodrow Wilson into a parking lot Dallas' Park and Recreation Board finally agreed on Nov. 2 to give the Dallas Independent School District what it said it desperately needs: 22 brand-new parking spaces at the corner of S. Glasgow Drive and Columbia Avenue across the street from Woodrow Wilson High School. That's also the outskirts of Randall Park, which is what made this particular vote so difficult for so many. Park board — and Dallas City Council — members seldom like paving over parkland for a parking lot, no matter how small or barren the sliver of grass may be. As it turned out, that vote wasn't the end of the discussion after all. In fact, it only served to crank up the volume, with a council member comparing DISD to The Simpsons' billionaire power-plant owner and a district trustee complaining on Facebook that "facts seem to get short changed in this age of #fakenews." And last week, [eight members of the park board agreed to reconsider the vote after one member who voted for the parking lot asked for a do-over](. The board will consider the request Dec. 7, just six days before the issue is scheduled to land in front of the council. And: Fake cadavers give Mesquite ISD students [a rare hands-on experience.]( special offer [special offer digital access]( In this 2014 file photo, U.S. Rep. Joe Barton, R-Ennis, asks questions during a hearing at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. (Nathan Hunsinger/Staff Photographer) politics Joe Barton scandal makes voters ponder if private sexting is akin to groping or ‘monkey business' If Joe Barton's career ends because of a lewd video he sent to a lover five years ago, [he'd be the rare congressman felled by a consensual, if icky, sex tape](. Others have seen their ambitions derailed by visits with prostitutes, payoffs to mistresses, come-ons to underage pages, groping in elevators, demands on aides for sexual favors, and extramarital dalliances. Barton's embarrassment may be no easier to live down. In the internet age, the images and snickers spread fast. But based on what's known so far, the Ennis Republican engaged only in private, victimless behavior, in an era when sexting isn't so unheard of, even by 60-something politicians. He's no Gary Hart or David Vitter or Bob Packwood, let alone a Roy Moore or Al Franken. That gives him a chance to survive, if he can show that "he is not part of that narrative of a powerful man behaving badly - that it wasn't an abuse of power," said political scientist Hinda Mandell, an expert on sex scandals. Constituents’ take: In his hometown of Ennis, [residents say Barton's personal life is none of their concern](. Experts’ take: Barton might be a victim, [but he's also politically vulnerable](, said strategists. Dallas Police Department officers (obscured, behind date/time stamp at top) walk up to a man (top center, by front of truck) in a chair in a cul-de-sac in Rylie. After the man stands and freezes, one fires at him. (Courtesy) police Fired Dallas cop captured on video shooting mentally ill man gets two years probation A fired cop received [two years probation for shooting a mentally ill man]( who later received a $1.6 million settlement from the city of Dallas. Cardan Spencer, 34, pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of attempted deadly conduct, a state jail felony. Spencer shot Bobby Bennett on Oct. 14, 2013, after Bennett's mother called police to help with her son, who had a knife and was acting erratically. When officers arrived, Bennett was sitting in an office chair in a cul-de-sac of his Rylie neighborhood. Spencer claimed Bennett had the knife "raised in an aggressive manner" and had stepped toward the officers. But surveillance footage showed that Bennett stood still and never moved forward. In the courts: More cops are facing criminal cases, but [convictions remain a rarity in Dallas](. Hit-and-run: A pedestrian was not using the crosswalk when [he was struck and killed in a hit-and-run]( Friday night in west Oak Cliff, police said. Advertisement (Ashley Landis/The Dallas Morning News) Photo of the Morning Dallas Cowboys defensive end Demarcus Lawrence and Los Angeles Chargers offensive tackle Joe Barksdale exchange jerseys after an NFL game between the Cowboys and the Chargers on Thanksgiving Day. SportsDay has the look behind the NFL tradition of exchanging jerseys, and [what some Cowboys plan to do with them.]( Around The Site - Fire fatalities: [Two adults and two children were killed in a house fire]( in Garland early Saturday. - Terror update: An attack on a mosque by militants in the country's troubled region of northern Sinai has [killed 305 worshippers, including 27 children](. - A new title: George H.W. Bush is [now the longest-living president]( in U.S. history. - This week in Amazon-o-mania: Some cities seem to be hesitant to give Amazon a bargain basement deal to land HQ2, while [others are wondering what the company can do for them](. - College x real estate:[If your college dorm was more like a tenement than lux living](, the latest student housing projects will be a surprise. - Drink and skate? Dallas bar [adds outdoor skating rink for the holidays]( and it's wonderfully campy. - It’s time: Here’s [where to stream your favorite Christmas movies.]( Luis Borja (center), 15, takes part in a symposium to introduce teaching as a career, at Sunset High School Collegiate Academy on Nov. 16. The school has partnered with the University of North Texas at Dallas and Mountain View College. (David Woo/Staff Photographer) Finally... How can Texas end its bilingual teacher shortage? UNT-Dallas has an answer One in five kids struggles with English in the state’s public schools, and they don’t have nearly enough teachers to help them all. So the [University of North Texas at Dallas is investing millions to build a bilingual teacher “superhighway” to train more of these badly needed educators]( through its Emerging Teachers Institute. The institute is recruiting aggressively through grassroots campaigns and now offers an accelerated pathway to a degree for some students. Advertisement 👋 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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