Five stories that have North Texas talking: Spend wisely when it comes to summer getaways; meet Jennifer Anderson, widow, mother of two, tornado survivor; Donald Trump has the evangelical vote thanks to a Dallas pastor; taking a selfie can be deadly; and more.
By the time temperatures start to rise and the days stretch into the evenings, the itch to travel needs to be scratched. But that can mean researching fares, flight and fees online until your eyes burn just to ensure you’re not breaking the bank to get away for a few days.
Fort Worth Star-Telegram reporter Andrea Ahles covers the airline industry and consumer travel. She enlightened listeners on Texas Standard about five ways to save on air travel as spring break and summer vacations approach.
Here are those tips at a glance (courtesy of Texas Standard):
- Where you’re flying out of makes a difference.
- You can save big if you’re willing to fly no-frills.
- Be aware of the fees that can come along with those airlines.
- Be flexible about your departure days.
- Take the time to really shop around.
Read more on how flying Frontier or Spirit, departing on a Tuesday and not flying out of Austin could save you money. Also, check out Ahles’ article on how the “toxic culture” of American Airlines is returning. [Texas Standard, Fort Worth Star-Telegram]
- For a single mom, battling back from disaster is nothing new. In the second installment of KERA’s newest series One Crisis Away: Rebuilding A Life, reporter Courtney Collins tells the story of Jennifer Anderson and her two young sons from Garland. The family of three not only endured the deadly Dec. 26 tornados but also the death of her husband two years earlier. “When you’ve already felt like you’ve hard to start over. And you feel like ‘I’m just now rebuilding, I’m just now catching my breath.’ And then something like this happens. It’s really hard.” Read Anderson’s story. [KERA News]
- A Dallas pastor is helping Donald Trump gain the evangelical vote. Robert Jeffress, senior pastor of First Baptist Dallas and one of the most influential religious figures in the country, (for the most part) supports presidential candidate Donald Trump. The Dallas Morning News reported:
“The pastor said Trump sought him out in August and began to cultivate a relationship. He showed up at Trump’s side before the Iowa caucuses, where Trump finished second. And he rushed to Trump’s defense when Pope Francis announced that candidates who wanted to build walls were not true Christians.”
But just because he prayed for Trump at the rally at the Fort Worth Convention Center last month, doesn’t mean Jeffress agrees with him 100 percent. “For instance, Jeffress said, Trump’s views on mass deportations, which would uproot families, are ‘something I’m still processing.’” Read more. [The Dallas Morning News]
- The Texas Juvenile Justice Department has developed a pilot program to place young offenders in jobs if they have already earned a high school diploma or GED. So far only seven of 1,713 youths are participating in the program developed through the agency's involvement in the Youth In Custody Certificate Program with the Center for Juvenile Justice Reform at Georgetown University. The Texas Tribune reported:
“The program helps youths gain practical work experience, increasing the chance's they'll become positive and contributing members of the communities they return to. That process also helps youth with their treatment, which typically emphasizes recognizing the errors and victimization that landed them in the system.”
Read about Miriam, 18, who left the juvenile justice system and found work at a local pet grooming business. [The Texas Tribune]
- Death by selfie. The desire to take a photo while in a dangerous situation — in a car, from a bridge, near a train track — has risen, and so has the number of deaths, particularly among young men. In this week's Vital Signs — KERA News' series on real-life health — host Sam Baker spoke with Shelli Stephens-Stidham, Director of the Injury Prevention Center of Greater Dallas at Parkland Health & Hospital System about the issue. Listen to the discussion. [KERA News]
“We’re just starting to become aware of these emerging issues (deaths by selfies). Forty-nine people documented since 2014. And we have over in the U.S. alone over 3,000 people die as a result of distracted driving while talking on their cell phones. We’re starting to see a thousand people here being injured because they’re distracted pedestrians.”
