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Top Stories: Dallas County Discrimination Trial Continues; North Texas Homes Selling Quickly

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The top local stories this morning from KERA News: 

A trial continues in a lawsuit to determine whether Dallas County discriminates against white voters on Tuesday.

Four plaintiffs allege County Commissioners in 2011 approved boundaries that "cracked" and then "packed" white voters into one district. The plaintiffs want new boundaries drawn that give white voters the chance to elect the candidate of their choice. 

County Judge Clay Jenkins has said the Commissioners Court does not discriminate against voters of any race. He noted that while the county is mostly minority, three members of the five-member court are white.

The Dallas Morning News reports the case is believed to be the first in the country where white voters are suing for protection under the Voting Rights Act.

Other stories this morning:

  • Dallas-Fort Worth had one of the fastest selling home markets in the country last year, according to Zillow. The sale time for homes in North Texas averaged about 55 days. That put North Texas at number six nationally last year among markets with the shortest selling time. Analysts with Zillow expect the pace of local home buying to remain rapid this year.

  • Oil prices fell on Monday after closing Friday at more than $67 a barrel – the highest price since 2014.

  • Hundreds of school districts and charter schools lost money when state lawmakers in 2017 chose not to continue funding Governor Greg Abbott’s high-quality Pre-K grant program. However, the higher standards required under that program remain in place and that's hitting local school budgets harder. KERA’s Sam Baker talked about this with the Texas Tribune’s public education reporter Aliyya Swaby.

You can listen to North Texas stories weekdays at 8:23 a.m. and 6:20 p.m. on KERA 90.1 FM.

Gus Contreras is a digital producer and reporter at KERA News. Gus produces the local All Things Considered segment and reports on a variety of topics from, sports to immigration. He was an intern and production assistant for All Things Considered in Washington D.C.