Looking ahead to a new year inevitably requires a healthy look back on the one that has just ended. In fact, we think that Spanish philosopher George Santayana nailed it when he wrote, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”
Let’s hope that Dallas city leaders and other influential sorts keep that in mind, though in many ways it could serve as Big D’s motto. It’s not just because 2026 is only a few days old that we’re still paying close attention to what transpired in 2025, but the biggest news storylines of the new year made a lot of noise in the old year. There will be sudden developments, breaking news and surprise announcements in 2026, to be sure. But even if we didn’t have such things to count on, we already know that 2026 will be packed with drama, intrigue and controversy, regardless.
For every shocking headline in 2025 that we certainly didn’t see coming, such as the Luka Doncic trade or the deadly shooting at the Dallas ICE field office, there were many more big stories that filled headlines that had been a long time coming. That will certainly be the case for Dallas and all of North Texas in 2026…