Five stories that have North Texas talking: Could Josh Brent return to the Dallas Cowboys?; a new snarky map highlights Dallas stereotypes; George W. Bush is writing a book about his dad; and more.
Former Dallas Cowboy Josh Brent is out of rehab – and might be returning to the NFL. Brent received 10 years probation and 180 days in jail following his intoxication manslaughter conviction in the 2012 death of teammate Jerry Brown, Jr. He was released from jail in June. The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports that Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said Wednesday that Brent is preparing paperwork for a possible return to the NFL. Brent must meet with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell. The Star-Telegram reports: “If Brent returns to the NFL, it will most likely be with the Cowboys. Jones said Brent can help the Cowboys revamped defensive line. ‘Well, he has played at a level before that would help us, yes, and obviously we’re trying to build this defensive line,’ Jones said. ‘I know that one thing for sure, he is contrite and I know he feels one of the best ways to pay his debt to what he feels to the family is to do what he does the best and that is be a football player.’”
- A new snarky map of Dallas and the suburbs has generated buzz online. Judgmental Maps produces laugh-out-loud maps of various cities, calling out neighborhoods and putting stereotypes under the spotlight. This week, Judgmental Maps released a map about Dallas. (If you’re easily offended, don’t click on the link.) Instead of West Plano, it’s West Facelift. There’s Snoozeville – or the area in east Dallas (or about the intersection of Interstates 635 and 30 to be precise). There’s Big Hair – the western edge of Preston Hollow. Or Botox Super Center – North Dallas. There’s Chicken-Owning Hipsters in Oak Cliff. (The Semi-Rich Liberals are nearby.) The Park Cities? How about Entitled Republicans, BMW/Lexus/Mercedes Only Zone and Popped Collars. “All the oil money in Texas can’t keep you from being judged,” Judgmental Maps’ Facebook page says. The map includes many creative names that aren’t appropriate for a public media outlet to report.
- Wichita Falls continues to get creative in its effort to combat the persistent drought. Now it’s spending $400,000 to pay four guys to go on a motorboat and spread white powder to a lake. The Texas Tribune reports: “Last year, evaporation cost the state 2 trillion gallons of water, and it has been eliminating as much as 40 million gallons of water a day from drought-stricken Wichita Falls' supply this summer. … The four men, who work for a company called Flexible Solutions, were applying WaterSavr to Lake Arrowhead. The company claims that its product will save the city hundreds of millions of gallons of water by preventing evaporation. At a cost of $400,000 for the product and labor, the city is hoping the experiment, the first of its size in the nation, will work. And the rest of parched Texas is watching. But there are plenty of skeptics.”
- The Fort Worth doctor who contracted the Ebola virus in Liberia has improved slightly. The relief group Samaritan’s Purse said Wednesday that Dr. Kent Brantly is in serious condition. Brantly, who trained as a doctor in Fort Worth, had been working with Ebola patients at Samaritan’s Purse Ebola Consolidated Case Management Center. A missionary working with Samaritan’s Purse, Nancy Writebol, also contracted Ebola. She remains in serious condition. Both are being treated at an isolation center at ELWA Hospital in Liberia. Read more from KERA News.
- Former president George W. Bush is writing a book about his dad. The book about George H. W. Bush will be published in November, a week after the midterm elections, The Washington Post reports. “Crown Publishers announced Wednesday that the 43rd president has been working on the biography, which was done out of the public's view,” The Post says. “The book is about the 41st president's life and career both inside and outside politics. It will also touch on his influence on George W. Bush.” George H.W. Bush turned 90 in June.
