Dallas office space, 'Me Too' bill in Texas Legislature, Collin County's homeless: Your Monday evening roundup

With no new office projects starting up in the last 12 months, it's likely that all of Uptown and downtown's new buildings will be full before another property can be built and put on the market.  [Evening roundup]( 04/01/2019 By Wayne Carter Good Evening! Here is a look at the top headlines of the day. 🔎 Prefer the online view? It's [here.]( Recently completed buildings in Dallas' Uptown and downtown areas are almost 80 percent leased. (Steve Brown/Staff) REAL ESTATE [Is it time to start building more offices in Uptown and downtown Dallas?]( The office tower in Uptown's $350 million Union development is more than 90 percent leased. And the nearby Park District's PwC Tower just hit 85 percent leased to office tenants. The only big block of totally new office space downtown is at the Luminary Building, where about 80,000 square feet is still up for grabs. Researchers at commercial property firm JLL estimate that during the current development cycle, 3.2 million square feet of office buildings have been delivered in Uptown and the central business district. About 2.5 million square feet of that space has been leased. With no new office projects starting up in the last 12 months, it's likely that all of Uptown and downtown's new buildings [will be full before another property can be built and put on the market.]( Travel tie-up: Systemwide outages with a flight planning program [caused flight delays Monday morning for](. airlines]( including Southwest, American and Delta. Monkey business: Fast N' Loud star Richard Rawlings is reigniting a legal battle with his company's namesake Gas Monkey Bar N' Grill, [claiming the bar isn't permitted to use his brand.]( ADVERTISEMENT POLITICS [In 'Me Too' era, Dallas lawmaker wants to ban employers from silencing victims of sexual harassment]( For Victoria Neave, the nondisclosure agreements brought to light in the "Me Too" era that barred women in film, broadcast media and journalism from speaking out about their sexual abuse by colleagues and supervisors amount to a "contractual sealing of lips." Now, the Dallas Democrat is leading the charge at the Texas Capitol to fight these arrangements through a bill [that would void contractual agreements that prevent employees from notifying law enforcement or regulatory agencies]( about sexual harassment or sexual assault in the workplace. "In this era of Me Too, we really have an opportunity as a state to take the lead and to help protect women victims of sexual harassment," Neave said. "We believe that this bill will help women be able to come forward and report victims or instances of sexual harassment in the workplace." The bill would apply to all victims of sexual harassment or assault, including men.   Commentary: Beto O'Rourke is making immigration reform a key issue, [but not without political risk]( writes political columnist Gromer Jeffers Jr.   Pack mentality: Texas is edging toward raising sales age for tobacco products, but [some see smoking as a "personal liberty."](  EDUCATION [SMU, TCU launching internal reviews in wake of national admissions bribery scandal]( The intricate admissions scandal that allegedly included bribery at some of the country's most elite schools has prompted the area's top private universities [to conduct their own internal reviews.]( Southern Methodist University and Texas Christian University were not among the eight schools named in what federal authorities called the biggest college admissions scam ever prosecuted by the U.S. Justice Department. Among the indicted — which included Hollywood actresses — was a tennis coach from the University of Texas. Thus far, SMU has reviewed each student who received an athletic scholarship since 2012 and found that all had indeed played on a team. All incoming freshmen accepted for the fall have also been reviewed with no issues found. TCU officials released a statement saying they were reviewing their own admissions process to identify needs for improvement and to "ensure a high level of confidence."  Commentary: Texas teachers, [we must mobilize against STAAR testing]( writes Jeff Wheatcraft.    ADVERTISEMENT (Rose Baca/Staff Photographer) PHOTO OF THE DAY Herb crusted New Zealand lamb with tomato chutney, cumin carrots and orzo caponata is among the dishes created by chef Jared Harms in the kosher kitchen at the Fairmont Dallas hotel. Harms is among a group of Dallas chefs independently creating dishes [to elevate kosher cuisine into a "better-than-good" experience.]( There's only two more days left to vote This Wednesday, two breweries will go brew to brew. [Click here to vote now]( and make sure your favorite brewery makes it into the next round. Become a D-FW real estate insider. Get expert Steve Brown's [Real Estate Update]( newsletters delivered to your inbox every Friday morning. [SIGN UP HERE]( EDITORS' PICKS - Child death: A teen has come forward [as the mother of a newborn girl found buried in a flower pot]( at a Carrollton cemetery. - End of the line: Police used a spike strip [to end a chase from DFW Airport to Dallas]( after pepper spray failed to slow down the driver. - Not so fast: These five funny April Fools' Day pranks [didn't trick Dallas folks.]( FINALLY... [Recent camp outside McKinney library shows Collin County is not immune to challenges of homelessness]( McKinney residents had complained about the growing group of homeless people who had set up camp there. Some had taken photos showing stacks of pots and pans and a makeshift toilet behind a pillar in the library's entryway garden. After the photos caused a stir on social media, police increased patrols in the area. Some of the men and women camping at the downtown library packed up and moved on. Others chose to stay. Across the nation, libraries are adapting to issues of homelessness. Libraries are built as public places where all are welcome, yet conflicts over who can use them and how are nothing new. [It's a growing pain for Collin County]( where some of the nation's fastest-growing ZIP codes are still adapting to new, big-city problems. 👋 That's all for this afternoon! 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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