Five stories that have North Texas talking: Texas owns Forbes' list of cities where good jobs are waiting; Austin is still weird; a statewide ban on texting while driving is up for discussion again and more.
Forbes put Dallas at number one on its Best Cities For Good Jobs list. Here’s the heart of what the editors say earned Dallas the bragging rights:
“Dallas … shrugged off the Nov. 2011 bankruptcy of American Airlines parent AMR Corp. to rack up 2.1% job growth last year and is projected to continue adding jobs at a 2.8% rate through 2019 – more than 300,000 on top of the 2.1 million already in Dallas and its Plano and Irving suburbs.”
Five Texas cities are in the top ten and first through fourth place go to Texas metros. Fort Worth lands at number four, which will please recent Think panelist and Fort Worth diplomat Bud Kennedy (Star-Telegram) at least a little bit. Revisit the Dallas, Fort Worth and Identity show where Kennedy handed out t-shirts that read, "Life's Too Short To Live In Dallas."
- Speaking of Forbes validation: Austin is the fastest growing U.S. city on Forbes’ list three years running. But, lest we worry, the city is still pretty weird. Andrew Weber of KUT culls some bullets to affirm this from a 400-comment thread on Reddit. Note the wonky road pronunciations often overlooked by residents and regular visitors: Guadalupe as Gwad-A-Loop, for instance. [KUT in Austin]
- Texans who lost their spouses or children in texting-related car crashes will tell their stories to the House Transportation Committee in favor of a statewide ban on texting while driving. Thirty-nine states have already instated a ban. [Dallas Morning News]
- A part of the federal Voting Rights Act that’s been a source of contention in Texas will be on the U.S. Supreme Court’s plate tomorrow. Section 5 protects states like Texas with a track record of racial discrimination at the polls. Congress renewed that law in 2006, ensuring the Department of Justice or the courts would have to approve any changes to election laws in said states. Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott is among those who find flaws in Section 5 and oppose Congress’ renewal of the law. Democrats argue that Republican lawmakers lose elections under Section 5, so of course they’d want it to disappear. [Texas Tribune]
- High school students in Texas are required to take 15 standardized tests to get that diploma. For many legislators (and educators), that’s not such a fun fact. Sen. Dan Patrick is among those proposing to take the Scantrons down a notch. In fact, he wants to get rid of certain state exams altogether –but the SAT exam should be required instead of just recommended, he pitches. [KUHF in Houston]
