H.R. No. 19

R E S O L U T I O N

WHEREAS, A team of editorial writers from the Dallas Morning

News has won the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for editorial writing; and

WHEREAS, The award recognizes editorial writing that

exhibits "clearness of style, moral purpose, sound reasoning, and

power to influence public opinion in what the writer conceives to be

the right direction"; in addition, the Morning News was commended

for its "relentless editorials deploring the stark social and

economic disparity between the city's better-off northern half and

distressed southern half"; and

WHEREAS, Beginning in 2007, Dallas Morning News editorial

writers Tod Robberson, Colleen McCain Nelson, and William McKenzie,

along with other members of the paper's editorial board, embarked

on an intensive and ongoing campaign called "Bridging Dallas'

North-South Gap"; the purpose was to call attention to and advocate

for the part of the city south of Interstate 30 and the Trinity

River, which they observed "has been corroding for decades"; and

WHEREAS, The team spent months immersing itself in this

impoverished, neglected area, interviewing community leaders,

business owners, and residents, touring neighborhoods, and

participating in seminars, roundtable discussions, and town hall

meetings; along the way, they used the editorial page to explain why

North Dallas residents need to care about the southern half of their

city, and they also strived to give voice to South Dallas residents;

and

WHEREAS, Since then, Mr. Robberson, Ms. Nelson, and Mr.

McKenzie have highlighted a range of issues plaguing South Dallas,

including blighted property, absentee landowners, joblessness

among males, teenage pregnancy, and high dropout rates; among the

editorials submitted for review to the Pulitzer Prize Board were

"Bleak House," about boarded-up South Dallas homes and their

negligent owners and "Not a One-Man Job" about the lack of adequate

support for Paul Quinn College; and

WHEREAS, An especially noteworthy component of the Bridging

the Gap campaign is the monthly editorial "10 Drops in the Bucket,"

a list of persistent problems that cause stress for southern Dallas

residents; these pieces have been instrumental in spurring the city

to action on the demolition of notoriously crime-ridden motels and

empty, burned-out houses; moreover, editorial writers supported

six pieces of legislation during the 2009 legislative session, and

three of them passed; and

WHEREAS, Tod Robberson, Colleen McCain Nelson, and William

McKenzie, backed by Morning News publisher Jim Moroney, editor Bob

Mong, vice president and editorial page editor Keven Ann Willey,

deputy editorial page editor Sharon Grigsby, and members of the

editorial board, have set an outstanding example of editorial

writing, and their efforts have contributed significantly to the

betterment of South Dallas and the entire city; now, therefore, be

it

RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 82nd Texas

Legislature hereby congratulate the editorial writers of the Dallas

Morning News on winning the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for editorial

writing and extend to them sincere best wishes for continued

success; and, be it further

RESOLVED, That official copies of this resolution be prepared

for Mr. Robberson, Ms. Nelson, and Mr. McKenzie as an expression of

high regard by the Texas House of Representatives.

Johnson Branch Anderson of Dallas Burkett Gooden Laubenberg Sheets

______________________________ Speaker of the House

I certify that H.R. No. 19 was adopted by the House on February 15, 2011, by a non-record vote.

______________________________ Chief Clerk of the House