By KERA News & Wire Services
Dallas, TX –
A referendum has been voted down that would have allowed same-sex couples at the University of North Texas in Denton to be elected as the school's homecoming court next year.
The University of North Texas Student Government Association released the results Monday on its Web site. The referendum was defeated by a vote of 2,836 to 2,059, with 13.5 percent of the student body casting ballots.
If it had passed, UNT would have become one of the first universities in the country to allow same-sex couples to run for homecoming court.
The SGA senate voted to allow students to decide the issue after the university drew national attention earlier this year when the SGA rejected a bill to allow same-sex couples to run for homecoming.
Arlington woman held after spouse slain
Police have identified the Arlington man shot dead at his home and his wife who's held as a suspect in the slaying.
Forty-five-year-old Arthur Reyes was killed in the Sunday night shooting at his house in southwestern Arlington.
Arlington police spokeswoman Tiara Ellis Richard says the man's estranged wife, 50-year-old Colette Reyes, was arrested at the scene and has been charged with murder.
In a statement issued Monday, Richard said police answered a domestic shooting call about 9:30 p.m. Sunday and found the husband's body in the garage of the house. Police say the pair had been getting a divorce.
Tyler firm gives free turkey for donated blood
Give a pint, get some poultry. A blood drive in Tyler is meant to bolster supplies and help put food on the Thanksgiving table.
Greenberg Smoked Turkey is offering a free turkey to anyone who donates a pint of blood. Owner Sam Greenberg calls it a "win-win deal for everyone."
It's the fourth year in a row for the free turkey blood drive, which last year saw about 1,600 birds given away. The drive, associated with Carter BloodCare, is at the Harvey Convention Center.
Plan to pay to expand I-35 in north Texas
The Texas Transportation Commission has told its staff to submit plans on how to fast-track an estimated $4 billion expansion of Interstate 35 between Dallas and Denton. The commission wants details by January.
The Dallas Morning News reported Monday that the project is a prime candidate for financing similar to private toll deals nixed by the 2009 Legislature.
Lawmakers defeated attempts to extend the authority for so-called comprehensive development agreements with private companies to build roads, in exchange for toll revenue.
Commission member Ted Houghton of El Paso said Friday that authorities have got to use all of these innovative ways of building highways "or we won't be building."
Passthrough toll financing would have Texas promising to make payments to the firms based on the level of traffic use on the roadways.