Eddie Bernice Johnson dies, our Texans of the Year are revealed

Also, Cowboys' playoff picture, 14-year-old killed in shooting, Longhorns get their shot [MORNING ROUNDUP]( [The Dallas Morning News logo](   Good morning and happy new year, North Texas! I'm Todd Davis, and I've curated today's newsletter. Are you looking for some good news to start 2024? Our Cowboys writer David Moore reports that, based on some of this weekend's evidence, [the Curse of Jimmy Johnson may have lifted](. See you in your inbox tomorrow morning.   POLITICS [Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson is photographed in 2022 at her Dallas office.]( Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson was the first African American to serve as chief psychiatric nurse at Dallas’ VA hospital. (Smiley N. Pool / Staff Photographer) [Eddie Bernice Johnson, who broke barriers, represented Dallas in long House career, dies]( Dallas Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson, [a trailblazing Black woman]( who spent decades as North Texas’ most powerful Democrat, allowing her to leave a generational impact on the region’s development, died Sunday. She was 89. Dallas Mayor Eric L. Johnson posted about her death on social media, and a source close to the family confirmed it with The Dallas Morning News. Eddie Bernice Johnson’s son, Dawrence Kirk Johnson Sr., called his mother a champion for the people of Texas. “She gave her life to this community,” he said. “She gave Dallas all she had to give.” [READ MORE](   [‘One-game season’: Cowboys’ Week 18 outlook is pretty simple after Eagles’ loss to Arizona]( Dallas is suddenly one win away from an NFC East championship and a home playoff game (maybe more). 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[14-year-old boy killed, another wounded in Oak Lawn shooting, Dallas police say]( Officers responded about 4:40 a.m. Friday to the 3100 block of Harry Hines Boulevard, near Ivan Street, where [...] [From Renée Zellweger to The Glare to ‘Salvator Mundi’ to JFK, an arts writer looks back | Granberry]( Staff writer Michael Granberry, 72, who took a job as a profile writer with The Dallas Morning News in 1997, [...]   [MORE NEWS](   ADVERTISEMENT   TEXAN OF THE YEAR [A collage illustration shows eight former deputies for Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, the Texas flag and the state capitol building. Pictured are: Ryan Bangert, Blake Brickman, Lacey Mase, Jeff Mateer, David Maxwell, Darren McCarty, Mark Penley and Ryan Vassar – all named Texans of the Year by The Dallas Morning News Editorial Board.]( Eight former deputies for Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton are shown in an illustration by staff artist Michael Hogue. Our Texans of the Year are (from left to right, starting with top row) Ryan Vassar, David Maxwell, Ryan Bangert, Lacey Mase, Jeff Mateer, Mark Penley, Darren McCarty and Blake Brickman. [How the Ken Paxton whistleblowers stood up for truth and Texas]( Over two days in late September 2020, while the nation was in the grip of the pandemic, eight of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s top deputies gathered and decided to turn their boss in for corruption. They had determined that he had repeatedly used his office to benefit a real estate developer named Nate Paul. The deputies recognized a pattern of abuse that touched each of their areas of the attorney general’s office. And they refused to accept it. They did it without knowing whether there would ever be justice or vindication. And when it was over, they watched as 16 Republicans in the Texas Senate turned their backs on the evidence and voted to acquit Paxton. History might move slowly on behalf of these eight. But if there is justice, history will come to see them as we do – heroes for the truth who stood up for our state and for honest governance when both were under attack. Their names are Ryan Bangert, Blake Brickman, Lacey Mase, Jeff Mateer, David Maxwell, Darren McCarty, Mark Penley and Ryan Vassar. [They are our 2023 Texans of the Year](. [READ MORE]( Related: - Learn more about [the whistleblowers](. - See [other notable Texans]( who were nominated.   [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Instagram]( [LinkedIn]( [YouTube]( [Privacy Policy]( | [Account Login]( | [Help Center]( [Terms of Service]( | [Manage Preferences]( | [Unsubscribe]( The Dallas Morning News 1954 Commerce Street Dallas, TX 75201 © Copyright 2023