By Suzanne Sprague

By Suzanne Sprague

Dallas, TX – Ambient sound of a sidewalk cafe.

By Suzanne Sprague

Dallas, TX – Ambient sound of a Dallas City Council meeting, with Council members yelling at each other and the mayor banging a gavel on the table

Suzanne Sprague, KERA 90.1 Reporter: Dallas Mayor Ron Kirk said early in the day that if the ethics code debate were a horse race, all of the City Council's horses would run out of the gate and stop in their tracks.

Dallas Mayor Ron Kirk: We have a couple of members of the Council that want to use this as a way to say, "We have ethics. They don't. They're against it."

By Suzanne Sprague

Fort Worth, TX – Suzanne Sprague, KERA 90.1 Reporter: For nearly two hours, patients of Tarrant County's public hospital system told of wading through a maze of confusing lines, of receiving the wrong prescriptions, and of sharing the few chairs and one bathroom at the new centralized pharmacy.

By Suzanne Sprague

Fort Worth, TX – Ambient sound of a crowd gathering in a large hall.

Suzanne Sprague, KERA 90.1 Reporter: The Tarrant County Convention Hall was filled with vendors trying to sell Democrats anything from merchandise to ideas.

Sound from a videotape begins to play.

Sprague: At the booth sponsored by the Texas State Rifle Association, Executive Director Randy Gibson was screening a video about gun safety starring the cartoon character Eddie the Eagle.

By Suzanne Sprague

Fort Worth, TX – Suzanne Sprague, KERA 90.1 Reporter: Texas Democratic Party Chairwoman Molly Beth Malcolm was elected in 1998, the same year her party was wiped clean from statewide offices.

Molly Beth Malcolm, Texas Democratic Party Chairwoman: What I think happened over the last decade is while Democrats were in the Legislature and they were working with the Republicans that were over there, the Republicans began to organize and jump out and pretend and take credit for things that they weren't doing.

By Bill Zeeble, KERA 90.1 reporter

Fort Worth, TX – Sam Baker, KERA 90.1 Morning Edition host: The 2nd International Piano Competition for Outstanding Amateurs reaches its crescendo today and tomorrow in Fort Worth, as finalists play for top prizes. But, as 90.1's Bill Zeeble reports, the tension that accompanies typical music contests has given way to a more relaxed atmosphere.

Music fade

By Bill Zeeble, KERA 90.1 reporter

Dallas, TX – Sam Baker, KERA 90.1 Morning Edition host: The Dallas Stars stand on the brink of elimination tonight as they face the New Jersey Devils in game five of the Stanley Cup Finals. If the Devils win, they take the best-of-seven series. From the National Hockey League's perspective, though, the Stars have already scored a success of sorts, as 90.1's Bill Zeeble reports.

By Bill Zeeble, KERA 90.1 reporter

Dallas, TX – Sam Baker, KERA 90.1 Morning Edition host: Plans for the new Nasher Sculpture Garden and Center have been unveiled by award-winning landscape designer Peter Walker and architect Renzo Piano. 90.1's Bill Zeeble has more on the art space in downtown Dallas.

By Bill Zeeble, KERA 90.1 reporter

Dallas, TX – Sam Baker, KERA 90.1 Morning Edition host: Dozens of shareholder-activists lobbied the ExxonMobil board during its annual meeting yesterday. They hoped to change corporate policies on everything from global warming to gay rights. On every count, they failed, but say they won't give up. 90.1's Bill Zeeble has more.

Ambient sound of protestors chanting: When do you want ExxonMobil to protect America's Arctic? Now! When do you want Exxon to stop global warming? Now! And when...