Five stories that have North Texas talking: There’s no space for the Elbow Room in Dallas; Chuck Norris is named an honorary Texan; see you soon, Tony Romo; and more.
Patrons and preservationists are dreading the shuttering of another historic landmark in Dallas — the Elbow Room, a bar located on the edge of Deep Ellum — although its demise had been expected for almost a year.
Texas A&M University voted last June to take the property using eminent domain to make way for its new college of dentistry, replacing its current facility in walking distance, The Dallas Morning News reports. Owners Joe and Rosalie Nagy owned the bar but didn’t own the building. The couple will be serving their last customers on April 15, according to Dallas CultureMap.
The building will be razed by the end of May. Last fall, Preservation Dallas accurately labeled the Elbow Room as one of six historic places in the city that were “endangered.” The building, one of the last remaining historic commercial buildings on its block of Gaston, was built around 1933. As for the Elbow Room, it would have celebrated 20 years in 2018. [Preservation Dallas, Dallas CultureMap, The Dallas Morning News]
- The Texas Senate approved a bill to freeze tuition at public universities for two years. Senate Bill 19 would ban tuition hikes after the 2017-18 school year, and after that, increases would be limited to 1 percent plus inflation, according to the Texas Tribune. The bill will now go to the House, where there are a few lawmakers that aren’t fans of tuition caps. The Tribune reports: “Also on Tuesday, the Senate gave preliminary approval for Senate Bill 18, which would eliminate a rule that requires schools to set 15 percent of money raised from tuition increases for financial aid.” [The Texas Tribune]
- In other lege news, the Senate named Chuck Norris an honorary Texan. The former star of "Walker, Texas Ranger" and his wife, Gena, appeared in the chamber on Tuesday. The Associated Press reports: “Norris, who's 77, was born in Oklahoma but has lived in Texas. A conservative Christian, he's campaigned for some of the state's top Republicans, including with U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz during his White House run last year, and with now-Gov. Greg Abbott in 2014.” He’s also been a punchline on the internet for more than a decade. [The Associated Press]
- Tony Romo’s choosing retirement over playing for a team other than the Cowboys. But fans will still see him on television. The longtime Dallas quarterback, who’s turning 37 this month, is replacing analyst Phil Simms on the top NFL broadcasting team for CBS. Romo, who will be paired with Jim Nantz, considered multiple network offers along with whether he wanted to pursue a Super Bowl elsewhere after losing the starting job in Dallas last season. Romo’s departure from Dallas has been the most likely outcome since November, when he returned after missing the first 10 weeks with a back injury. [KERA News]
- Women make up just 3.5 percent of America’s firefighters. One North Texas training program is helping buck that trend. Since the Tarrant County College program started in 1989, only 31 of the 1,019 students have been women, KERA’s Courtney Collins reports. Alexis Dunn is the only woman in her fire academy class. Dunn says while there are rigorous physical requirements for firefighters, she has no problem keeping pace with her male peers. “You have to be really in shape to do this. Even I’m not where I need to be, but I feel like I keep up pretty well," she says. And while Alexis Dunn may be the only woman on this team, there’s no hazing. In fact, it’s almost the opposite. [KERA News]
The High Five is KERA's daily roundup of news stories from Dallas-Fort Worth and across the state. Explore our archives here. And sign up for our weekly email for the North Texas news you need to know.
