Dallas City Council extends disaster declaration, millions for rent and small business aid approved: Your Thursday morning roundup

Millions of dollars will soon be disbursed for Dallas renters, homeowners and small businesses struggling in the wake of COVID-19.  [Morning roundup]( 04/23/2020 By Carla Solórzano Good morning! Here is a look at the top headlines as we start the day. 🌞 Weather: Mostly sunny and warm. High of 83. 🔎 Prefer the online view? It's [her]( ADVERTISEMENT [Dallas City Council extends disaster declaration until May 12, will adjust to state guidelines]( [Dallas detention officers told not to ‘spook’ inmates with masks as COVID-19 fears began, testimony shows]( [Dallas County workers are visiting businesses to offer guidance — and shut down violators]( [Texas House Speaker Dennis Bonnen floats 5% budget cuts for all state agencies]( [Is Texas’ coronavirus abortion ban over? State tells court it is.]( [Elective surgeries resume in North Texas, but many are taking ‘baby steps’]( [Only 8% of D-FW apartment renters have missed April payments]( [3 in jail, 1 still at large after man fatally shot at southeast Dallas apartment]( [DART to begin construction on new Irving light rail station]( [‘Hamilton’ in Fort Worth has been postponed — all the way to 2022]( Apartment, condominium and office complexes in the Uptown, Oak Lawn, Turtle Creek and Cedar Springs areas north of downtown Dallas are shown. (2019 File Photo/Vernon Bryant) NEWS [Dallas to give millions for rent, mortgage help and small business aid; eviction protections approved]( Millions of dollars will soon be disbursed for Dallas renters, homeowners and small businesses struggling in the wake of COVID-19. [Dallas City Council members on Wednesday finalized about $13.7 million in federally funded rental and mortgage assistance]( as well as $5 million from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act for struggling small businesses. The city also provided additional eviction protections to residents unable to pay rent because of the pandemic. 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 [newsletters@dallasnews.com](mailto:newsletter-feedback@dallasnews.com?subject=). STAY CONNECTED WITH US [Unsubscribe]( | [Free newsletters]( | [Dallasnews.com]( | [Subscriber login]( | [Privacy Policy]( | [Contact us]( Copyright 2020 - [The Dallas Morning News, 1954 Commerce Street, Dallas, TX 75201, United States](