North Texas News and Commentary

News reports and opinion from KERA staff and freelance commentators.

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Recent Features:

KERA Commentary: The Flip-Flop Test (Thu, 24 Jul 2008 11:54:17 -0400)
As John McCain and Barack Obama vie for the presidency, we hear almost daily complaints about alleged "flip-flopping" on various issues. Commentator Chris Tucker has a two-part test for determining when a flip-flop is under way.
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Wind Power (Wed, 23 Jul 2008 13:50:53 -0400)
Texas leads the nation in generating wind power, using only a tiny fraction of the state's available wind. But state regulators have tentatively approved a 5-billion dollar plan to change that. Texas Public Radio's David Martin Davies reports from the Abilene area.
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KERA Commentary: Requiem For Two Modern Males (Wed, 23 Jul 2008 12:34:10 -0400)
Commentator Rawlins Gilliland remembers two friends he viewed as unique role models.
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Fuel Company Accused of Cheating Drivers (Tue, 22 Jul 2008 23:44:38 -0400)
A company with gas stations across the state is facing a huge fine and possible prosecution, following an investigation into drivers being swindled at the pump. KERA's Shelley Kofler has more. —- The Texas Department of Agriculture says it launched "Operation Spotlight" last weekend after routine checks at Sunmart gas stations found fuel pumps shortchanging drivers. Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples says the closer inspection found 990 Sunmart pumps cheating customers by as much as a tenth of a gallon for every five gallons purchased. Staples believes the company knew exactly what it was doing. Staples: Apparently they were calibrating the pumps to not give customers everything they were paying for. And when you have a company that is cheating over half of it's customers on more than 60-percent of their pumps that is a very serious violation. Staples says his agency shut down the non-compliant pumps, which included those at Sunmart stations in Rockwall, Johnson and Ellis Counties. The company now faces a fine of more than $100,000, and possible prosecution by the state's Attorney General. Sunmart management could not be reached for contact. Shelley Kofler, KERA News
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Dallas County Sheriff Cuts Ketchup to Fight Red Ink (Tue, 22 Jul 2008 20:14:50 -0400)
Dallas County Sheriff Lupe Valdez is offering a long list of budget cuts — from an I-T Coordinator to ketchup in the jail. Commissioners have ordered the Sheriff to cut more than six million dollars from her 2009 budget. KERA's BJ Austin reports.
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Methodist Church Leaders OK Bush Presidential Complex For SMU (Thu, 17 Jul 2008 20:05:33 -0400)
Church leaders who own Southern Methodist University have approved the contentious George W. Bush Institute, the "think tank" part of the presidential library coming to campus. KERA's Bill Zeeble reports
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Fort Worth Mayor Takes Trains to Talk Transit in Dallas (Thu, 17 Jul 2008 20:05:17 -0400)
Fort Worth Mayor Mike Moncrief had a much longer commute Thursday morning: to DALLAS aboard the Trinity Railway Express and DART. The Mayor led a delegation to meet with DART about light rail and streetcar lines. KERA's BJ Austin reports.
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Dallas County Sheriff Meets with Labor Groups (Wed, 16 Jul 2008 20:48:27 -0400)
Leaders of the FOUR Dallas County Sheriff's Deputy Associations are cutting the Sheriff some slack. Sheriff Lupe Valdez agreed to meet with the FOUR groups a day after they commandeered the courthouse steps to complain about her leadership. KERA's BJ Austin reports.
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AA loses more than a billion dollars in the 2nd quarter (Wed, 16 Jul 2008 20:48:12 -0400)
American Airlines lost 1 point 4 billion dollars in the 2nd quarter. KERA's Bill Zeeble has some details.
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KERA Review: Kara Walker Exhibit (Wed, 16 Jul 2008 13:41:02 -0400)
Kara Walker uses an old-fashioned art form - the black paper silhouette - in controversial ways to explore issues of power, politics and racism. Commentator Matthew Bourbon has this review of a retrospective of Walker's work at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth.
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