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Dallas Businessman Sam Wyly Files For Bankruptcy

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Five stories that have North Texas talking: A Dallas businessman goes bankrupt, the bullet train project will have a public meeting in Dallas, high school drill teams are no longer girls-only clubs, and more.

Dallas businessman Sam Wyly has filed for bankruptcy. Wyly blamed the costs from a U.S. Securities and Exchange commission investigation for the filing. He may have to forfeit upwards of $400 million after the SEC sued him in 2010 for using offshore trusts to hide stock holdings and making illegal trades.

According to the Dallas Business Journal, the businessman listed assets debts ranging from $100 million to $500 million in his Chapter 11 petition. His largest creditor is the Internal Revenue Service.

Dallas County health officials got the green light to conduct Ebola tests. NBC 5 reports the U.S. Defense Department gave the approval for the county to conduct Ebola testing, with oversight from the state health department and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In the past, Dallas County would send blood samples to the Texas health department and the CDC. "Time is of the essence. You want to get fast results," Dallas County Health and Human Services' director Zachary Thompson said. But not just anyone can get tested for Ebola. Thompson says a physician has to request the test.

There will be a public meeting today on the bullet train that will connect Dallas to Houston. Texas Central Railway President Robert Eckels spoke with KERA last week about the project, which is currently in the middle of its environmental impact study. The bullet train will be based off of Japan’s Shinkansen train system. With speeds of up to 200 miles per hour, Eckels says this will make for a 90-minute commute from Dallas to Houston. The project is privately funded. The meeting will be at the Dallas Infomart and starts at 6:30 p.m. [Dallas CultureMap]

Texas drill teams are no longer a girls-only club. Males are slowly joining the kick-line also, the Star-Telegram reports. The newspaper talked to male members on the drill teams at Seguin, Arlington and Lamar High. Along with having to figure out arrangements with locker rooms, drill team coaches have to rethink costumes. “I got [long pants and a shirt] instead of a leotard,” one teammate said. “I’m very happy.”

Dallas art-goers are richer, older and whiter. KERA’s Jerome Weeks reports on the data, which comes from The Arts Community Alliance’s North Texas Cultural Co-op. The project collects data on patrons who frequent cultural organizations and sends the information back to its members. Though Dallas artgoers tend to have higher incomes, they own typically middle-class car brands like Toyota, Ford and Honda.

Former KERA staffer Krystina Martinez was an assistant producer. She produced local content for Morning Edition and KERANews.org. She also produced The Friday Conversation, a weekly series of conversations with North Texas newsmakers. Krystina was also the backup newscaster for the Texas Standard.