Five stories that have North Texas talking: A morning in HP with former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, Dallas Fort-Worth might not be as religious as we think, car sharing catches on in Texas and more.
The "Iron Lady" of British politics, ex-Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, at age 87. Her son, Mark, was thick in Dallas high society; he worked for Lotus Cars and at one time was married to Diane Burgdorf, the daughter of a prominent millionaire. In 2005, he admitted to an 鈥渦nwitting鈥� role in a ; he was fined $506,000 and given a suspended jail sentence.)
And her grandson, Michael, is remembered fondly at Highland Park High for his football exploits, particularly .
Wendy E. Lane of the AP with her son in Dallas as they strolled through Highland Park one morning in October 1987. The then-prime minister courted mothers and children, suggesting that the sun may be too bright for one baby鈥檚 eyes.
- A Religious Surprise 鈥� Gallup list of America鈥檚 does not include Dallas Fort-Worth, believe it or not. Provo-Orem, Utah leads the nation and the South owns the rest of the top 10. Though Texas has pockets of 鈥渉ighly religious鈥� at its borders, North Texas鈥� megachurchgoers are no match for Alabama or Mississippi鈥檚 devout 鈥� Texas isn鈥檛 ranked in the , either. Why could this be? In an analysis of this 2012 data, Richard Florida links lower rates of religiosity with higher numbers of gays, immigrants, college graduates, and 鈥渓evel of innovation.鈥� []
- The Medicaid Puzzle 鈥揕awmakers are trying to assemble the 鈥淭exas solution鈥� to our state鈥檚 Medicaid problem 鈥� without actually proposing legislation that would expand Medicaid, lest Gov. Rick Perry veto the measure. (A party-line vote in the House last week to reconsider Medicaid expansion from the budget stalled the matter.) So what next? Some key negotiations with the federal government to draw down expansion dollars. []
- Share The Road, And The Car 鈥� Fort Worth鈥檚 bike-sharing program Another kind of wheels co-op is gaining momentum in American cities like Austin: Car sharing. The Bond-esque experience sends members hopping from smart car to smart car, paying only for the time they drive. NPR鈥檚 Wendy Kaufman reports companies like Car2Go are finding success that suggests Americans don鈥檛 find identity or power in their cars anymore. []
- Final Four Trash Talk, In Chess 鈥� Louisville and Michigan fans may be talking smack in Atlanta, where their schools face off tonight for the NCAA men's basketball title. But chess players aren't far behind. You might鈥檝e heard Webster University chess players and their coach Susan Polgar before the Final Four of College Chess this past weekend. Sure enough, the St. Louisians at Webster took the win. The University of Texas at Dallas鈥� team returns from the Maryland tournament .
