The State of Texas: July 16, 2015

Facts of the Day

Want to impress at your next barbecue? Here are twelve things you might not have known about the Lonesome Dove miniseries. The tidbits come from Texas Standard and are much more interesting than their delivery, I promise:

Life Lesson Thursday

Do not cut in line, even if you’re trying to rob the place. Especially when the person you cut off is a firefighter and former Marine (h/t Joe Deshotel):

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MUST SEE VIDEO: A Mansfield firefighter takes down an armed robber at a Midlothian convenience store. BOOM! Check out the security video from the gas station where it happened and hear from the hero!http://cbsloc.al/1OeP5u8

Posted by CBS DFW on Tuesday, July 14, 2015

Daily Roundup

Grounded – Rule number one at an airport: behave. Rule number two: behave really well when the governor’s around. While waiting for a flight in New York with his family and staff, Governor Greg Abbott “was approached by another passenger who shook his hand and then loudly and profanely expressed his unhappiness with the governor’s opposition to gay marriage,” reports the Dallas Morning News, which also notes the man was “using an epithet for emphasis.” The man was told he couldn’t board the same flight to Austin with the governor with that attitude. Had the angry man been in Texas, he might’ve been able to buy a chill pill, or something like that. “Forty-six people, most from Dallas and Fort Worth, were arrested this morning in connection with a drug-distribution and money-laundering ring involving deliveries made by at least one person who works at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport,” according to the Morning News.

Stealth Start – So how did the first day of Jade Helm 15 go? Very quietly, according to reports. “With no fanfare or cause for alarm, and almost entirely out of sight to the general public. Pops of gunfire echoed beyond the front gates of Camp Swift near Bastrop, Texas, though that hardly seemed out of the ordinary on what is a training ground for the Texas National Guard,” the Associated Press reported. Texas Public Radio said that Eric Johnston, the organizer of the Counter Jade Helm operation, reported “no movement,” although the group was more than ready. “I would like to think that if the situation were to turn afoul, many more of our people would stand up and come to assist,” Johnston said. For many Bastrop residents, tired of dealing with the snickers of some and the ravings of others, the end of the two-month training session can’t come soon enough.

The Trouble with Mascots – The Houston Chronicle has an informative history of Texas’ controversial mascots. Although the debate over symbols continues today, the story notes that “Some Texas schools began dropping Confederate imagery in the 1970s.” There was the terribly named “Frisco High School Fightin’ Coons,” which “waited until 2002 to change its name from an indisputable ethnic slur. The school opted to change to the Raccoons.” We’ve got our own version of the Washington, D.C. problem, too, with the Donna High School Redskins in Rio Grande Valley, though the school is even more stubborn than Dan Snyder. “The school is brazen about its name, referring to the team’s football school as ‘The Reservation’ and having football players enter the field by running through a teepee. The lead cheerleader dresses as a Disney’s ‘Pocahontas’ stereotype while wearing an enormous headdress.” Fortunately, “Other places have moved on from the derogatory term.”.

House Hunters – Live in Houston and need a new apartment? You just need a little patience. “The Houston metropolitan area ranked No. 2 nationally for the number of apartment permits issued over the past 12 months trailing May,” writes the Houston Business Journal. “Houston-area developers received permits for 23,340 multifamily units in the 12 months trailing May, a 21 percent increase from the previous year. The city of Houston issued more than half of the permits in the region, permitting 12,636 apartment units in the 12 months trailing May.” Houston is so overwhelmed with permit requests, the city has “outsourced part of its application reviewing process to a private company.” Of the top ten metro areas seeking multifamily permits, Dallas and Austin also crack the list at number four and number eight, respectively.

Back in the Saddle – Good news for sports fans: Texas managed to lasso some young superstars. “For the second straight year, fan favorite/sharpshooting forward Matt Bonner is back in the fold after re-signing with the Spurs on a one-year contract for the veteran’s minimum of roughly $1.5 million,”the San Antonio Express-News reported. “Bonner’s return brings the Spurs one step closer to completing perhaps the most successful offseason in the NBA. They now have 14 players committed or signed for the upcoming campaign, one below the league maximum.” Bonner’s deal was a piece of cake considering the never-ending saga between Dez Bryant and the Dallas Cowboys, which had all the will they or won’t they of a bad soap opera. But it looks like the two sides have finally come together, thanks to Bryant’s shiny five-year, $70 million contract (about $14 million a season). As ESPN details, “Bryant’s deal includes $32 million in fully guaranteed money, including a $20 million signing bonus and guaranteed salaries of $3 million in 2015 and $9 million in 2016” not to mention “that guaranteed money will increase to a total of $45 million if Bryant is still on the team’s roster on the fifth day of the league year in 2016, kicking in another guaranteed $13 million for the 2017 season.” So all’s well that pays well.