Five stories that have North Texas talking: it’s tax time for the political candidates; GOP convention officials to visit Dallas soon; remembering Margaret Crow; and more.
Tuesday was Tax Day – did you file your taxes on time or get an extension? How much of a refund are you expecting? Republican gubernatorial candidate Greg Abbott released his 2013 federal income tax form on Tuesday – and he’s getting a hefty refund. WFAA-TV reports: “Abbott’s return shows that he and his wife Cecilia earned more than $190,000. But after deductions and exemptions, the Abbotts' taxable income was $100,128. Abbott paid $50,391 in mortgage interest, $20,431 in property taxes and gave $6,650 to charity. The Abbotts overpaid federal taxes by $20,329 and will get that sum back as a refund." Abbott’s Democratic opponent, Wendy Davis, filed an extension and plans to eventually release her 2013 return. Davis was campaigning in North Texas Tuesday, focusing on pre-Kindergarten. Meanwhile, a national poll says she’s gained little ground against Abbott since November: She trails him by 14 points.On Wednesday, Davis plans to undergo outpatient neck surgery after experiencing shoulder and arm pain.
- GOP officials will soon visit Dallas as the city competes for the 2016 Republican National Convention. Staff and advisers will travel to Dallas April 24 for a “technical site visit,” The Dallas Morning News reports. “The team will conduct similar visits with Dallas’ competition — Denver, Las Vegas, Kansas City, Cincinnati and Cleveland — over the next couple weeks,” The News reported. “The trips will allow the GOP take a closer, in-person look at each city’s financing, venues, workspace and hotels. And the preliminary inspection will determine which cities will receive an official visit this summer from the full GOP convention site selection team.” Learn more about Dallas’ bid from KERA News. Also, Dallas sees Las Vegas, Kansas City and Denver as its main competitors.
- Republican lieutenant governor candidate Dan Patrick and San Antonio Mayor Julián Castro traded barbs during a televised debate Tuesday night. The Texas Tribune reports: They “covered a range of issues beyond the set topic of immigration policy, including the November general election and abortion rights. …. Patrick frequently sought to emphasize his compassion for those who cross the U.S. border illegally. ‘I don’t like to see the exploitation of people crossing the border,’ Patrick said. ‘It is not right for a man who is crossing this border with his family to see his daughter or wife raped at midnight by a coyote. It is not right to come to America on the back of an 18-wheeler.’” The Tribune added: “Castro accused Patrick of playing politics, pointing out that what he said during the debate stood in stark contrast to the state senator's tone on the campaign trail and in televised ads. Patrick once referred to the influx of undocumented immigrants from Mexico as an "illegal invasion" — and referred to the diseases he said they bring with them. ‘You’ve been huffing and puffing on the campaign trail like the Big Bad Wolf and now you are tiptoeing around like Little Red Riding Hood,’ Castro said.”
- On Wednesday afternoon, there will be a public memorial service for Margaret Crow, the wife of the late real estate magnate Trammell Crow. She died Friday at age 94. Margaret Crow was a noted art collector, and the force behind Dallas’s Crow Collection of Asian Art. Executive director Amy Lewis Hofland told KERA that Crow came up with the idea after her husband was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. “She was really pondering what could the family could do for his legacy and so she raised the question: Is there enough material in the Crow Family Collection of art to merit a museum?” Hofland said. The service starts at 3 p.m. at Highland Park United Methodist Church.
- Learn more about the Mexican rodeo in Texas. Al Rendon, a photographer, will talk about capturing the Charreada de San Antonio, with its “elegant pageantry, thrilling action and colorful crowds.” He’s speaking at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Latino Cultural Center, 2600 Live Oak, Dallas.“Dodging moving horses, ropes, and the excited crowds for over 20 years, Rendon has artfully captured the action and excitement of the Charreada for the rest of the world to see.”
