Kelli Smith

When Mom Can't Come Home Last year, a program that attracted national attention for reuniting incarcerated mothers with their kids faced closure. Angelica Zaragoza helped it expand instead.

This weekend I met a boy who saw his mother for the first time since he was 9 months old. A family praying for a mother’s release from prison. And a woman whose life was near collapse before she saw her daughter.

My latest @labreportdallas.bsky.social features the program changing their lives.

The Stubborn Story of a Challenged Apartment Complex Volara in Oak Cliff, once the most violent apartments in Dallas, last year became a tale of success. In 2025, police say it has returned to its old ways. What happened?

Dallas will likely end 2025 with its fifth straight decline in violent crime, in part by focusing on tiny geographies that account for most of it. What's that look like in practice? And what can't the cops solve? @kellixsmith.bsky.social on Volara in Oak Cliff: labreportdallas.com/p/the-stubbo...

The Stubborn Story of a Challenged Apartment Complex Volara in Oak Cliff, once the most violent apartments in Dallas, last year became a tale of success. In 2025, police say it has returned to its old ways. What happened?

In 2024, Dallas' most violent apartment complex became a tale of success after police appeared to lead a dramatic turnaround.

Then, this year, violence began rising again.

For @labreportdallas.bsky.social, I looked into what Volara's volatility tells us.

ICE Came to Dallas City Hall. It Did Not Go Well for ICE. Mayor Eric Johnson’s insistence that the City Council discuss whether the police should be involved in a controversial federal immigration program may have had an unintended consequence: a fractious b...

And here is the link to that piece about the City Council briefing on the 287(g) program.

www.dmagazine.com/frontburner/...

Why Starbucks is Coming to South Dallas The story of how Forest Forward came to understand the significance of inviting a national chain into its ambitious redevelopment of the Forest Theater.

It's official: A Starbucks will open next door to he restored Forest Theater in South Dallas. My latest story for The Lab Report looks at why Forest Forward decided this was the right call for the project—and its neighbors.
labreportdallas.com/p/why-starbu...

The Perception and Truth Behind Violence in Dallas Despite numerous high-profile murders and violent crimes, the city is on pace for its largest decrease in homicides since well before the pandemic.

Headlines in the last month portray the city of Dallas in chaos. We've had killings outside an ICE facility, a nightclub, a shopping center, a beheading at a motel. A story that isn’t being told: Dallas is on pace for one of its lowest murder tallies in a decade.

I dug into the data in my latest.

Deep Medicaid Cuts Come for Parkland The steepest reduction in the program’s history has the leaders of the county's safety net system preparing for the unknown. Here is where things stand.

What does the government shutdown fight have to do with Dallas hospitals? For @labreportdallas.bsky.social, I break down how planned health care cuts could hit the county’s safety net—with $130M already on the line.

“There’s going to be some rough seas.”

Deep Medicaid Cuts Come for Parkland The steepest reduction in the program’s history has the leaders of the county's safety net system preparing for the unknown. Here is where things stand.

With the fight over healthcare shutting down the federal government today, The Lab Report's @kellixsmith.bsky.social looks beyond the political bickering and digs into the real-life implications across North Texas, especially within Parkland Health. labreportdallas.com/p/deep-medic...

The 33-Year-Old Architect of the Region’s Fentanyl Response Becky Devine had a theory: could outreach teams, deployed days after a drug overdose or poisoning, save lives? Three years later, deaths are declining.

A woman had a theory: could small teams deployed after a drug overdose or poisoning save lives?

Three years since the fentanyl crisis struck North TX, deaths are declining.

My latest spotlights a 33-year-old at the center of the fight.

In Dallas, Reducing Violent Crime Goes Beyond Policing They aren’t cops. But this specialized team of city employees is showing how improving neighborhoods and addressing blight can reduce violence.

ICYMI: While the dominant public safety conversation in Dallas was about adding more cops, violent crime fell 48% across 150 sites in just six months. Police officers had very little to do with it. From @labreportdallas.bsky.social's @kellixsmith.bsky.social
labreportdallas.com/p/dallas-bli...

In Dallas, Reducing Violent Crime Goes Beyond Policing They aren’t cops. But this specialized team of city employees is showing how improving neighborhoods and addressing blight can reduce violence.

For my latest story, I feature Dallas' City Action Strike Team — a trio that targets urban decay with an ambitious goal in mind: Could improving these spaces help reduce violence?

So far, we've found, the results are promising. More here:

In North Dallas, a New Future in a Shuttered School County officials are finally paying close attention to the Esperanza neighborhood in Far North Dallas, beginning with a new vision for Dobie Pre-K.

Dobie Pre-K will soon be a hub for services in Esperanza. To understand the significance of local government finally paying attention here, @kellixsmith.bsky.social spent weeks with residents to learn about resilience and community in this pocket of North Dallas. labreportdallas.com/p/esperanza-...

In North Dallas, a New Future in a Shuttered School County officials are finally paying close attention to the Esperanza neighborhood in Far North Dallas, beginning with a new vision for Dobie Pre-K.

In my first story for The Lab Report Dallas, I spent weeks in Esperanza, a neighborhood once called "mayhem" where a third of households live on less than $25,000 a year. After a school shuttered, officials stepped in — and residents turn to resilience.

The full website goes live in the fall. We’ve hired @kellixsmith.bsky.social, one of Dallas' best reporters, as a staff writer. Email newsletters go out every Wednesday. We want to help Dallas understand what’s working, what’s not, and why. Join us! (Also it’s free.) labreportdallas.com/subscribe

🧵 Fourish months ago, @sharongrigsby.bsky.social and I holed up in essentially a glass-doored closet and talked at each other until we could see the shape of a new publication. The Lab Report has a ways to go—website (the design rips), social accounts (yikes)—but we’re now running stories.

The Lab Report Dallas Helping the city understand itself.

So excited to share this journalism, which goes deep on important topics impacting North Texas families. My first stories publish in the coming weeks. 🙂

You can sign up (for free!) to see us in your inbox every week:

If Not Jail, Then Where? The district attorney believes too many people are being taken to jail who need help more than punishment. Doing something about it is a different story.

Matt dove into Dallas' deflection center, an initiative championed by District Attorney John Creuzot to connect nonviolent criminal trespass offenders with services. It's meant to break the cycle keeping those people jailed.

The problem: Cops aren't bringing them there.

The Safety Net Has Ripped The Lab Report's first story is an inside look at how nonprofit service providers in North Texas have weathered half a year of 'unprecedented' funding cuts.

Sharon spent 6 months with North Texas nonprofits navigating uncertainty amid federal cuts, layoffs, and delayed reimbursements.

The effect is already being felt in the form of 33 million fewer meals, reduced stipends, fewer kids at summer camp, and more:

🧵Our first stories are out at The Lab Report Dallas!

Leading up to our website launch, we're publishing a new piece every Wednesday to offer a look at the solutions-based journalism you can expect from us.

Our first two by @sharongrigsby.bsky.social and @goodmoine.bsky.social are must-reads. 👇

Dallas police face a torrent of challenges. How can new Chief Daniel Comeaux succeed? Dallas' new police chief gave himself 90 days to learn before making changes. Still, since his start April 23, he’s had to contend with wide-ranging issues.

For my last @dallasnews.com story, I sat down with new Chief Daniel Comeaux and community and police leaders to ask how the ex-DEA leader can succeed amid a torrent of challenges here.

“Dallas is gonna have to deal with me because I’m not going anywhere.”

The public safety beat led me to neighborhoods, city meetings and courtrooms across North Texas. It taught me so much about building trust and handling sensitive topics. It’s a beat with a plethora of stories.

Now, the position is open! I'm happy to answer questions possible applicants might have.

Today is my last day at @dallasnews.com and it's still hard to believe it snuck up. Words can't express my gratitude for DMN's chance on me when I was a breaking news fellow.

I'm leaving after ~4 years covering Dallas PD, which has been an incredible opportunity to work on important stories.

Not a great situation tonight at Dallas city hall. The city attorney's interruption was a surprise to all board members who had questions prepared for the police chief. We are not done with this.

City attorneys bar Dallas police chief from speaking about immigration The directive came minutes after Dallas police Chief Daniel Comeaux introduced himself to the Community Police Oversight Board.

New: Dallas police oversight members arrived at their meeting tonight expecting to speak with the city’s top cop about a topic on many minds: immigration.

There was one catch: They weren’t allowed.

There are more people in the audience today than the usual monthly oversight meetings. Board member Ozzie Smith thanks those who came out to hear the Chief’s views and is outlining the six pages of questions they’d hoped to ask.

“This is not the meeting that we had anticipated as a board.”

Board member Brandon Friedman (@brandonfriedman.bsky.social) is trying to ask the chief for his views on immigration, but is interrupted by a city attorney who says they can’t ask anything him about immigration or specific policies because the agenda only said it’d be a “general introduction.”

Chief Daniel Comeaux opens his remarks at Dallas’ Community Police Oversight Board by addressing yesterday’s protests. He said he’s sad officers had rocks and bottles thrown at them, but he’s proud of their strength and only one person was arrested.

Watch: dallastx.new.swagit.com/views/113/dc...

Dallas rally to show solidarity with LA protesters turns tense as crowd takes to street Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge plays host Monday for those who aim to “stand in solidarity” with L.A. following immigration enforcement operations, protests.

Tonight’s Dallas protests appear to be the most tense DPD/protester interactions since 2020 George Floyd demonstrations. DPD trained a specialized group after those to better handle mass protests.

They also come one day before Chief Comeaux is set to address Dallas’ police oversight board.

We are very pro things-that-are-good-for-Dallas: labreportdallas.com

We're building something new over here, and I'm so excited to have Kelli with us. If you care about compelling local journalism that isn't boring, we're launching this for Dallas later this summer. Sign up here: labreportdallas.com