Robert Wilonsky
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Robert Wilonsky
@robertwilonsky.bsky.social
1.7K followers 120 following 350 posts
Editorial columnist at The Dallas Morning News. Writing about Dallas.
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robertwilonsky.bsky.social
Long column short: If Dallas City Hall will let a contributing, 110-year-old home in a landmark district in the heart of old East Dallas -- on Gaston Avenue, no less -- go to hell, what chance do those tucked-away districts in South Dallas and Oak Cliff stand?

www.dallasnews.com/opinion/comm...
Wilonsky: No, you can’t tear down an Olympic gold medalist’s historic East Dallas house
This part of town is deep in the heart of Preservation Land. Woe to the out-of-towner who tries to mess with that; or, for that matter, the city staffer who...
www.dallasnews.com
February 3, 2026 at 3:25 PM
robertwilonsky.bsky.social
For Your Weekend Listening Pleasure:

Using several sources, including soundboard recording and FM broadcast, someone assembled The Cleanest, Loudest Possible Version of Metallica's Feb. 5, 1989, show at Reunion Arena. Perfect for (waves arms wildly) days like these.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=UB1Y...
Russell Smith's preview of Metallica's Feb. 5 concert at Reunion Arena in Dallas, Texas. Appeared in The Dallas Morning News' weekend Guide. Apologies for the choppy upload, but this is how it was preserved in the archives.
January 31, 2026 at 1:30 PM
Reposted by Robert Wilonsky
melissaryan.bsky.social
I'm just gonna leave this here. RIP to one of the greats. www.youtube.com/watch?v=QwLZ...
Mitch & Mickey - A Kiss At The End Of The Rainbow
YouTube video by mayhew7
www.youtube.com
January 30, 2026 at 6:43 PM
Reposted by Robert Wilonsky
aceanbender.com
“hundreds” youtu.be/Imyqnop6grY?...
Best in Show (1/11) Movie CLIP - Two Left Feet (2000) HD
YouTube video by Movieclips
youtu.be
January 30, 2026 at 6:30 PM
robertwilonsky.bsky.social
Because (waves arms wildly) everything else wasn’t already bad enough.
nytimes.com The New York Times @nytimes.com · 4d
Breaking News: Catherine O’Hara, the comedian best known for her roles in “Home Alone,” “Schitt’s Creek” and “Beetlejuice,” has died at 71.
Catherine O’Hara, ‘Home Alone’ and ‘Schitt’s Creek’ Actress, Dies at 71
The Emmy-winning comedian was a member of the influential Canadian sketch comedy series “S.C.T.V.”
nyti.ms
January 30, 2026 at 6:37 PM
Reposted by Robert Wilonsky
chrisgeidner.bsky.social
A truly unacceptable assault on the First Amendment.
Federal Agents Arrest Don Lemon Over Minnesota Church Protest
www.nytimes.com
January 30, 2026 at 2:22 PM
Reposted by Robert Wilonsky
texasmonthly.bsky.social
Outside the Texas family detention center where U.S. Representatives Joaquin Castro and Jasmine Crockett went to check on five-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos, a quiet protest found its voice. https://www.texasmonthly.com/news-politics/dilley-detention-jasmine-crockett-joaquin-castro/
All Eyes on Dilley: 'It's Worse Than Anybody Thinks'
Outside the Texas family detention center visited by Joaquin Castro and Jasmine Crockett.
www.texasmonthly.com
January 29, 2026 at 7:15 PM
robertwilonsky.bsky.social
"As a prosecutor and a lawyer it’s unacceptable that a branch of our government creates a different set of facts about what’s very obvious."

Which is why this week John Creuzot signed on to the Fight Against Federal Overreach.

Or, as the founders call it, FAFO.

www.dallasnews.com/opinion/comm...
Wilonsky: Why Dallas County’s DA joined a coalition hoping to prosecute federal agents
Dallas County District Attorney John Creuzot got the call earlier this week from a fellow prosecutor halfway across the country. The man on the other end...
www.dallasnews.com
January 29, 2026 at 2:49 PM
Reposted by Robert Wilonsky
brucespringsteen.net
I wrote this song on Saturday, recorded it yesterday and released it to you today in response to the state terror being visited on the city of Minneapolis. It’s dedicated to the people of Minneapolis, our innocent immigrant neighbors and in memory of Alex Pretti and Renee Good.

Stay free
Bruce Springsteen - Streets Of Minneapolis (Official Audio)
YouTube video by Bruce Springsteen
youtu.be
January 28, 2026 at 5:02 PM
Reposted by Robert Wilonsky
texasmonthly.bsky.social
The day after he faced three separate traffic stops on Texas roads, José R. Ralat and his friend remained "shaken, and angry at and afraid of what seemed like a coordinated effort between federal and state officials." https://www.texasmonthly.com/food/taco-editor-stopped-by-ice/
What It Feels Like Getting Stopped by ICE
My work for Texas Monthly demands hundreds of hours on the road each year. Being pulled over by immigration enforcement officers has felt like an inevitability for months.
www.texasmonthly.com
January 27, 2026 at 8:25 PM
robertwilonsky.bsky.social
Yesterday I walked to Harry Hines to check in on folks living in the storm tunnels. On the way I saw 2 men sleeping on sidewalks in front of Walnut Hill storefronts. A Housing Forward crisis manager says those who need the most help are often the most visible.

www.dallasnews.com/opinion/comm...
Wilonsky: Hoping ‘no’ means ‘not yet’ among Dallas homeless who refuse warmth
The Northaven Trail dead-ends at Monroe Drive. On foot, I took a left toward Walnut Hill Lane, where, beneath the awning of a dental clinic, there was a man...
www.dallasnews.com
January 27, 2026 at 5:41 PM
Reposted by Robert Wilonsky
kevinmkruse.bsky.social
You should read everything @adamserwer.bsky.social writes, but this one really stands out. He's given a gift link below.
After Friday’s protest, when thousands marched in frigid downtown Minneapolis, chanting, “No Trump, no troops, Twin Cities ain’t licking boots!” I spoke with a young protester named Ethan McFarland, who told me that his parents are immigrants from Uganda. He had recently asked his mother to show him her immigration papers, in case she got picked up. This kind of state oppression, he said, is exactly what his mother was “trying to get away from” when she came to the United States. McFarland’s remarks reminded me of something Stephen Miller, the Trump adviser, had written: “Migrants and their descendants recreate the conditions, and terrors, of their broken homelands.” In Minnesota, the opposite was happening. The “conditions and terrors” of immigrants’ “broken homelands” weren’t being re-created by immigrants. They were being re-created by people like Miller. The immigrants simply have the experience to recognize them.
January 27, 2026 at 2:09 PM
Reposted by Robert Wilonsky
billybragg.bsky.social
I wrote this yesterday about the hero city of Minneapolis

www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKOW...
BILLY BRAGG - CITY OF HEROES
YouTube video by Billy Bragg
www.youtube.com
January 26, 2026 at 10:42 PM
Reposted by Robert Wilonsky
badideas.bsky.social
A video of Alex Pretti reading out the final salute of an unnamed veteran he cared for until the end of his life in the ICU, posted to Facebook by his son.
January 25, 2026 at 1:18 AM
Reposted by Robert Wilonsky
dimitridrekonja.bsky.social
Alex from our time working together, while he was in nursing school. Later, he moved to ICU, working as a nurse to support critically ill Veterans. He had such a great attitude. We’d chat between patients about trying to get in a mountain bike ride together. Will never happen now
Alex Pretti from his early days working at the VA
January 24, 2026 at 7:39 PM
robertwilonsky.bsky.social
For Your Frozen Weekend Listening Pleasure:

Jan. 28, 1978: Elvis Costello & the Attractions made their Dallas bow on Cedar Springs w/ Nick Lowe in tow. Debuted 5 "This Year's Model" songs. The Dallas "Less Than Zero." Great show or greatest show?

tinyurl.com/4yvf86h4

Setlist: tinyurl.com/2uatpn27
From The Dallas Morning News' club listings previewing Elvis Costello & the Attractions' Faces show on Jan. 28, 1978. Pete Oppel led his round-up of concert reviews with Roy Buchanan's show in Fort Worth that weekend. Because, as he notes, he wasn't much of an EC fan. Begrudgingly positive review. Imagine hearing "Pump It Up" for the first time -- live, no less. This photo, uncredited on the website selling numerous pictures from the Faces show, was likely taken by Joe Pronk. https://www.photosets.net/artist/costelloelvis.htm#1
January 24, 2026 at 4:03 PM
robertwilonsky.bsky.social
Scenes from last night's homeless count, in the drainage canals beneath Harry Hines and behind a NW Dallas convenience store. We met a lot of people; here are some of their stories. Most were determined to stay in their tents despite the approaching ice storm.

www.dallasnews.com/opinion/comm...
Wilonsky: ‘Life or death’: Counting, cautioning Dallas’ homeless hours before ice storm
This was to be, as the pastor put it, that moment when we head into the darkness to find “common humanity in our unsheltered neighbors.” I was reminded of...
www.dallasnews.com
January 23, 2026 at 5:50 PM
Reposted by Robert Wilonsky
dallasnews.com
Columnist Robert Wilonsky writes:

I went to write about the medical respite program giving hope to the homeless. I got much, much more.
Wilonsky: Nurse, cancer patient took two very different paths to Austin Street shelter
Living on the streets or in the shelters often means dying on the streets or in the shelters. Of illnesses unchecked, untended-to, unknown – cancer, maybe, or...
www.dallasnews.com
January 22, 2026 at 1:00 PM
Reposted by Robert Wilonsky
bevowon.bsky.social
Please read this
robertwilonsky.bsky.social Robert Wilonsky @robertwilonsky.bsky.social · 13d
Yesterday I met a woman who lost her job and home and wound up at the Dallas Life shelter, 2 days before she was diagnosed with Stage 3 cervical cancer. She ended up at Austin Street, cared for by a nurse who had also been unsheltered and seldom shares her story

www.dallasnews.com/opinion/comm...
Wilonsky: Nurse, cancer patient took two very different paths to Austin Street shelter
Living on the streets or in the shelters often means dying on the streets or in the shelters. Of illnesses unchecked, untended-to, unknown – cancer, maybe, or...
www.dallasnews.com
January 21, 2026 at 10:29 PM
robertwilonsky.bsky.social
Yesterday I met a woman who lost her job and home and wound up at the Dallas Life shelter, 2 days before she was diagnosed with Stage 3 cervical cancer. She ended up at Austin Street, cared for by a nurse who had also been unsheltered and seldom shares her story

www.dallasnews.com/opinion/comm...
Wilonsky: Nurse, cancer patient took two very different paths to Austin Street shelter
Living on the streets or in the shelters often means dying on the streets or in the shelters. Of illnesses unchecked, untended-to, unknown – cancer, maybe, or...
www.dallasnews.com
January 21, 2026 at 4:16 PM
robertwilonsky.bsky.social
Well, gosh, maybe before FIRST proposing the shuttering of four branches, the city should have first outlined what a thoughtful regional model would look like? As ever, tho, Dallas does it The Dallas Way: reactionary rather than visionary, lopping before looking. Same with City Hall teardown talk.
January 20, 2026 at 9:16 PM
robertwilonsky.bsky.social
Buy ALL the bourbon.
January 20, 2026 at 8:27 PM
Reposted by Robert Wilonsky
natalieweiner.bsky.social
really appreciate @robertwilonsky.bsky.social doing the shoeleather work of being a newspaper columnist when that work is so endangered www.dallasnews.com/opinion/comm...
Wilonsky: Among the northwest Dallas homeless, waiting and waiting for housing
Doug Courtney lives in the blue tent pitched beneath the power lines on Harry Hines Boulevard a few yards north of Walnut Hill Lane. Just below his perch are...
www.dallasnews.com
January 20, 2026 at 6:42 PM
robertwilonsky.bsky.social
Shocking, said no one.
dallasnews.com The Dallas Morning News @dallasnews.com · 15d
The Texas Department of Transportation on Thursday formally rejected the city’s plea to keep 30 rainbow, Black Lives Matter and other custom-painted street designs, according to City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert.
State rejects Dallas’ appeal to keep decorative crosswalks, sets deadline for removal plan
TxDOT says Dallas must comply by Jan. 31 or risk losing federal and state money.
www.dallasnews.com
January 19, 2026 at 10:11 PM
robertwilonsky.bsky.social
For Your Weekend Listening Pleasure:

On May 19, 1991, Bob Weir and Rob Wasserman brought their act to the Bronco Bowl, where they played some Dead, Dylan, blues, Bobby and the Midnites. Edie Brickell joined in. Sounds as good now as it did then.

tinyurl.com/yvv9nppp

Setlist: tinyurl.com/367ydwzn
January 17, 2026 at 4:25 PM