Five stories that have North Texas talking: How Dallas-Fort Worth rent compares in the U.S.; there鈥檚 a Texas town called Sanctuary; U.S. Rep. Beto O鈥橰ourke鈥檚 punk rock days; and more.
In the past five years, rent in Dallas-Fort Worth has jumped by more than 30 percent, with today鈥檚 average hovering around $1,057, reports. In 2007, the average rent in D-FW was about $708.
The same goes for home prices. In the last half decade, home prices in North Texas have jumped 55 percent. The current median cost of a pre-owned home in D-FW is close to $240,000, according to the Morning News; in 2007, that price was $147,000.
Despite the rise, it鈥檚 still cheaper to live in Dallas than popular locales on either coast. But Dallas isn鈥檛 the only 鈥渂argain鈥� in the state. Houston is slightly cheaper: Average rent is $1,025 and the median home price is $224,500. 鈥淒allas forever was a very cheap place to rent or own, and we still are compared to national averages, but it's nothing like it was pre-recession,鈥� .
The trend鈥檚 likely to continue 鈥� home prices in Dallas have been projected to by 2020. [The Dallas Morning News]
- So many Americans 鈥� including Texans 鈥� remain homeless despite the country spending billions each year on housing. In the second hour of Think at 1 p.m., NPR reporter Laura Sullivan will discuss the issue with host Krys Boyd. Sullivan teamed up with Frontline on the documentary 鈥�,鈥� which looks at the affordable housing crisis. You can watch the documentary at 9 p.m. tonight on . By the way, Think is broadcasting from NPR鈥檚 headquarters all this week 鈥� check out the . [Think, Frontline]
- The Dallas County district attorney's office is investigating allegations of voter fraud in municipal elections held over the weekend. Assistant District Attorney Andy Chatham tells that the investigation was opened after an "off the charts" number of allegations. The Associated Press reports: 鈥淚n court records filed Monday, Chatham said that his office began receiving complaints in April from Dallas County residents who said they received mail-in ballots despite not having requested them.鈥� [The Associated Press]
- U.S. Rep. can relate his punk rock past to his current political endeavors to unseat Sen. Ted Cruz in 2018. The Houston Press asked O鈥橰ourke about how music has influenced his political career after an event last month. 鈥淧laying in bands is about writing your own songs...and just connecting people in a way that is not filtered by corporations or anybody else. You just show up in somebody's town and you make a connection, or you don't, and we're doing that now; we don't take any PAC money.鈥� Read the with the El Paso native. [Houston Press]
- Residents in the North Texas town of Sanctuary would rather not talk about the controversy at the Capitol. On Sunday, Gov. Greg Abbott . In short, it punishes local law enforcement for not cooperating with federal immigration authorities. When asked if Sanctuary, Texas is a so-called 鈥渟anctuary city,鈥� a resident tells the , 鈥淲e鈥檙e a little redneck place out in the country where everybody can do their own thing. We鈥檙e pretty low-key out here.鈥� According to the Star-Telegram, the city takes 鈥渟mall government to the extreme.鈥� [Fort Worth Star-Telegram]
The High Five is 四虎影院鈥檚 daily roundup of stories from Dallas-Fort Worth and across the state. . And sign up for for the North Texas news you need to know.
