By KERA News & Wire Services
Dallas, TX – The Texas Department of Agriculture is hoping its first map detailing high-speed Internet access around the state will be a boost for unserved rural areas. Texas Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples unveiled the map Wednesday in Austin.
The interactive map allows computer users to pinpoint availability in small areas, even down to a specific rural home. Staples says the tool could lead service providers to target future investment.
Staples says 96 percent of Texas households have high-speed, or broadband, Internet access. But he says that doesn't mean much to the roughly 250,000 homes without it. He says he wants to "bridge the digital divide for rural communities."
State officials are asking Texans to provide input to keep the map relevant.
ID on man killed during poker game in Mesquite
Police say a man who fatally shot a suspected robber after another person was killed during a Dallas-area poker game is not expected to be charged.
Mesquite police say 35-year-old Tracy Moore, who lived at the apartment, was shot and killed early Tuesday by a man who allegedly tried to rob the players.
Police say another man, 34-year-old Jerome Johnson, shot and killed the robber.
Police say Johnson has a concealed handgun permit and was not arrested in the apparent self-defense case. A Dallas County grand jury is expected to review the shootings.
The name of the robbery suspect was not immediately released. Mesquite police did not immediately return a call Wednesday from The Associated Press.
Fort Worth approves tax breaks for RadioShack
The Fort Worth City Council has approved $10.7 million in tax rebates to keep electronics retailer RadioShack Corp. from relocating.
The vote Tuesday came eight years after Fort Worth city leaders approved a RadioShack incentive package worth as much as $96 million.
RadioShack, with 1,100 employees and a $94 million payroll, threatened to relocate last year. Under the new deal, RadioShack would have to repay some of the incentives if it leaves before 2016. Chief Financial Officer James Gooch says the agreement is "very good news that allows us to stay in our current location."
RadioShack had net income of $205 million, or $1.63 per share, in the most recent fiscal year.
Reports of a possible buyout began to circulate in March.