By Maxine Shapiro, KERA 90.1 business commentator

Dallas, TX – Let's catch up on some Texas news. High-tech and Oprah. I'm Maxine Shapiro with KERA Marketplace Middays.

By Maxine Shapiro, KERA 90.1 business commentator

Dallas, TX – I believe the time has come. We as a democratic society in a free enterprise market need to deeply look at our value of work and how much we get compensated for it. I'm Maxine Shapiro with KERA Marketplace Middays.

By Suzanne Sprague, KERA 90.1 reporter

Dallas, TX – Suzanne Sprague, Reporter: Just a month shy of her third birthday, Lanie Hannah of Weatherford seems just like any other toddler.

[child starts to sing "Jesus Loves Me"]

Sprague: ...except when she walks...

[sound of leg braces and walker]

Sprague: Lanie gets around either in a wheelchair or with leg braces and a walker because less than a year ago, when she quit standing and crawling up stairs, a doctor diagnosed Lanie with Spinal Muscular Atrophy.

By Merrier Spaeth, KERA 90.1 commentator

Dallas, TX – In this age of sound bites, we're prone to ask, "What's the bottom line?" Meaning - just tell me one thing... I'm Merrie Spaeth for Marketplace Midday.

Is the market going up or down? Is the bottom here yet, or not? Is the economic news good - or bad?

By Bill Zeeble, KERA 90.1 reporter

Dallas, TX – Bill Zeeble, KERA 90.1 reporter: To passengers, there may hardly be a difference between American Airlines and American Eagle, except this: one flies large jets, the other turbo-props and regional jets that usually only carry 35 to 50 people. But, American and Eagle are different companies. Although AMR is the corporate parent of both, they have separate management teams, unions and contracts that impose restrictions on each other in order to protect jobs.

By Kim Malcolm, KERA 90.1 reporter

Dallas, TX – Workers in hard hats rush to put the finishing touches on the Charles W. Eisemann Center, on North Central Expressway just north of Campbell Road. Dust fills the air and plastic sheets cover the seats in the cherrywood-lined Hill Performance Hall.

Through the confusion, long-time arts volunteer and former Richardson city council member Gerry Leftwich beams like a proud mother, and points out every detail with delight.

By Maxine Shapiro, KERA 90.1 business commentator

Dallas, TX – It's Friday so "It's Only Money," a review of the big and not-so-big stories of the week. I'm Maxine Shapiro with KERA Marketplace Middays.

So repeat after me, in the stock market, "September is historically a down month, September is historically a down month." I hope we don't have to keep this mantra until the end of the month.

By Tom Sime, KERA 90.1 commentator

Dallas, TX – These days, we think of homeless and unemployed as synonymous, but "Of Mice and Men" reminds us that for migrant workers, homelessness is a job. John Steinbeck's classic novella has been burned into the brains of every high school student, perhaps rendering it inert on the page to glazed-over English 101 eyes. But the Dallas Theater Center comes to the rescue with a breathtaking stage version that gives the old warhorse amazing freshness.

By Marisa Trevino, KERA 90.1 commentator

Dallas, TX – When Mesquite resident, Maria Medellin, received a surprise summons from the White House to share her welfare-to-work success story, Maria had one fear - flying. The 24-year-old, single mother of two had never before flown.

Luckily, that was her only fear.

By Maxine Shapiro, KERA 90.1 business commentator

Dallas, TX – I need to share a little story with you. It's about a young girl who came from an abused and neglectful home. She thought for the longest time she was invisible until she found a way to express herself through the arts. I'm Maxine Shapiro with KERA Marketplace Middays.