Five stories that have North Texas talking: Plano will release the fish in a large pond this afternoon; more people are arrested for student loan debt in Houston than any other major city; a Texas Senator fears for the U.S. electric grid; and more.
As summer approaches, Zika has become a concern and priority across the state, even though mosquitos carrying the virus have not been detected in Gulf Coast states like Texas and Florida thus far. Hours from the coast, even North Texas cities are starting to prepare.
The City of Plano Environmental Health Department will release thousands of mosquitofish in a large pond behind the at 1:30 p.m. today.
The goal of the mass-release is to reduce the number of mosquitos and the potential spread of viruses like Zika and West Nile, according to .
, also known as Gambusia affinis, feed on mosquito larvae and can be placed in a variety of freshwater habitats. 鈥淭he fish are often placed in areas that were previously devoid of them, to control mosquito populations. This type of biological control intentionally uses natural predators to achieve desired reductions in the mosquito population,鈥� according to the release.
While fewer mosquitos means fewer bites, the best defense is knowledge and preparedness. about the right repellants, choice of clothing and time to stay indoors. [NPR]
- Dallas challenges its outdated stereotypes with cultural treasures that only residents know and appreciate. In an , of D Magazine identifies the cliches associated with the city, but he provides significantly more substantial evidence combating Dallas鈥� general reputation 鈥� lots of money without lots of culture. The issue, however, is getting people to change their tune. Crain said, 鈥淭he city鈥檚 younger generation is no longer terrified about how the rest of country and world thinks about us, but it maintains the can-do spirit born during those lean post-assassination years. We still try shit. That鈥檚 what Dallas has always done.鈥� Read more from 鈥溾��. [Thrillist]
- Houston is the only major city where people are being arrested for outstanding student loan debt. In February, seven U.S Marshals arrested Paul Aker at his Houston home for his nearly three-decades-old student loan debt. There were 25 similar arrests in 2015, but only in Houston, an discovered. , 鈥淭hey found that all of these arrests : Judge Lynn Hughes. He鈥檚 the United States District Judge for the Southern District of Texas, who鈥檚 made headlines before for his . The Reagan-appointed judge wanted to make sure that those people that were delinquent on their loans would show up in his court and took measures to make sure they did.鈥� . [Texas Standard]
- Do current official state symbols accurately represent Texas? Does Texas even need a 鈥渟tate squash鈥�? Should the chuckwagon be the official state vehicle? Cowboy culture, bluebonnets and pecans seem to monopolize the list, while some equally telling cultural icons are left out, like the great-tailed grackle instead of the mockingbird for state bird. proposed several revisions to Texas鈥� large and lengthy collection of state symbols 鈥渁fter a long, diligent review of our state-sanctioned activities, food and drink, plants and animals, and minerals.鈥� with a little tweaking. [Texas Monthly]
- Energy shockwaves from outer space pose an apocalyptic threat to North America, and Texas should start preparing on behalf of the world. Or so says one state senator. Sen. Bob Hall of Edgewood assembled a two-day summit last week in the Texas Capitol鈥檚 extension to discuss threats to the U.S. electric grid. Basically, if a nuclear missile detonated in space above North America, shockwaves would descend and fry all of our electronic devices, . 鈥淓lectromagnetic pulse (often abbreviated EMP) and related phenomena have long been a fascination and fear of a doomsday faction of the Republican Party, and raising awareness of the threathas been one of Hall鈥檚 priorities since the electrical engineer and U.S. Air Force veteran joined the Legislature in 2015.鈥� . [The Texas Tribune]
