Five stories that have North Texas talking: DFW mayors touch down after international development mission, the journalism community loses one of its best far too soon, snakes as carry-on luggage and more.
A 12 day trip, two mayors, and one, unified mission. We may not usually think of Dallas’ Mike Rawlings and Fort Worth’s Betsy Price as a duo, but that’s exactly what they became on a trip to South America that just ended. As the Dallas Morning News reports, the idea was to call a “competitive truce” and pitch DFW as the next big thing for international development.
During several stops in both Brazil and Peru, the two mayors highlighted DFW Airport’s growing schedule of non-stop South American, Asian and Middle Eastern flights as well as the area’s expanding roster of international corporations. “The big headline,” Rawlings says, “is that the fastest-growing area in the United States of America is marketing itself to the largest country in South America, Brazil, and the best-growing country, Peru.”
- Young Reporter Known For Tough Questions Dies: A young journalist known for his refusal to cozy up to power and razor sharp reporting was killed yesterday in a car crash. Michael Hastings, 33, was best known for bringing down General Stanley McChrystal in the pages of Rolling Stone. His profile “Runaway General” captured the then-supreme commander of the war in Afghanistan openly mocking his civilian commanders in the White House. Hastings was a guest on Think in January of 2012 and spoke at length about his war reporting experience and how his famous profile of McChrystal came about.
- Risen From The Ashes: An Oak Cliff resident who watched her home burn to the ground when she couldn’t get through to 9-1-1 got a fresh start yesterday. Dora Fuller got the keys to her new home while friends and neighbors clapped and cheered. Last July 4th an overload of emergency calls forced dozens of attempts from the neighborhood to be put on hold. Subsequent confusion about the address also delayed dispatch of a fire crew from a station two blocks away. KERA’s BJ Austin explains why this was one of several incidents that prompted an overhaul of the 9-1-1 call center.
- Spurs Kicking Themselves (Ouch!) After Game 6: Ok, ok, the NBA finals haven’t wrapped yet, but last night’s game was so wild, it deserves a mention. They may not be a North Texas team, but a fair chunk of the Lone Star State is rooting on the San Antonio Spurs... and a win last night would have given them the title. With less than 30 seconds to go, the Spurs had a cushy five point lead. The yellow rope designed to keep crazed fans from rushing the court was out. Some disgruntled spectators had already left the building. But a few well-timed three pointers and some superhuman defense tied things up and pushed the game into overtime. At the end of five minutes, Miami had prevailed forcing Game 7 (which tips off Thursday night). Bet those Miami fans who left early wish they hadn’t been so keen to beat the traffic now, huh? Check out Ray Allen's tying three-pointer below. [ESPN]
http://youtu.be/44T6FYdLcLc
- Snakes On A Plane, For Real: Some call him an eco-guide, others prefer the technical herpetologist. But whatever moniker you favor, most agree that east Texas' William Wylly Lamar knows his reptiles. Maybe that’s why he felt so comfortable flying from Lima, Peru to DFW with seven Peruvian snakes stashed in his jacket pockets. TSA found them when he landed in Texas, and game wardens were waiting at his house to seize the reptilian cargo. He handed it over and admitted to snake smuggling. Federal prosecutors announced yesterday that Lamar has entered a guilty plea which could carry up to a five year prison sentence. [Dallas Observer]
