Five stories that have North Texas talking: Dallas-Fort Worth sees its wettest May ever; the campus carry bill heads to the governor’s desk; Bob Schieffer retires; and more.
The National Weather Service says this was the wettest May ever for North Texas. Dallas-Fort Worth recorded 16.96 inches of rain in May -- smashing the May 1982 record of 13.66 inches. Some parts of North Texas saw more than 25 inches of rain – particularly areas near the Texas-Oklahoma border. The heaviest was northeast of Gainesville, where nearly 29 inches of rain fell, the National Weather Service says. The Fort Worth office of the weather service recorded 14.94 inches, while Denton saw 11.96 inches. It was the second-wettest spring in North Texas – we saw 25.05 inches of rain in March, April and May. Only the spring of 1957 was wetter (29.01 inches). This week, North Texas is finally getting a break from weeks of rain. Sunday was sunny. Monday will be sunny, too. In fact, the sun will be out all week long. We’ll see highs in the low to mid 80s all week. We could reach the low 90s Friday and Saturday.
- The campus carry bill is heading to the governor’s desk. The Texas Tribune reports: “Legislation requiring the state’s public universities to allow handguns in dorms, classrooms and campus buildings is now one step away from becoming law. After final approval from the Texas House Sunday, Senate Bill 11 now heads to Gov. Greg Abbott, who has said he will sign the measure. The state Senate approved the bill Saturday. It took about an hour Sunday for the chamber to pass the controversial measure — over the passionate pleas of several Democrats who rose to speak against it — on a 98-to-47 vote. ‘Texas has got to get past its obsession with guns and start placing its resources on our students and institutions,’ said state Rep. Sylvester Turner, D-Houston. ‘This should not be the banner headline from this legislative session.’” [Texas Tribune]
- A state budget deal includes $25 million for the Alamo. The Texas Tribune reports: “As budget writers prepare to sell fellow lawmakers on a $209.4 billion two-year state spending plan before the legislative session ends Monday, “Remember the Alamo” may serve as a selling point. The final version of the budget negotiated by teams from the House and Senate includes a significant boost for the state’s most famous landmark, including up to $25 million for the General Land Office to upgrade the site of the famed 1836 battle deeply etched in the state’s identity. The proposed increase in state funds comes amid a turbulent period for the Alamo. In March, Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush fired the site’s longtime managers, the Daughters of the Republic of Texas, effective July 10, citing multiple contract violations.” [Texas Tribune]
- Bob Ray Sanders, a longtime columnist at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, has retired. He writes in his last column: “The truth is, the goodness and fairness in leaving — a special place, people, a job — is knowing that the stay was not just enjoyable, but fulfilling. So it is with me on this day. By the time you read this I will have retired from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, the place where I began my journalism career more than four decades ago. And, after a 20-year absence, it was the place that I came ‘home’ to and where I complete the journey. … Any regrets I carry with me are in the things I couldn’t get done, but they pale in comparison to the full range of experiences I had along the way.” Sanders worked for KERA for many years.
- Bob Schieffer, the TCU grad and longtime CBS newsman, signed off Sunday as host of “Face The Nation.” The Washington Post reports: “In his farewell message, Schieffer recalled the moment he decided to be a reporter: in the ninth grade, when he saw his byline in the school newspaper. ‘I got a chance to do that. When I was a young reporter, I wanted to work for CBS, because Walter Cronkite was my hero. And I got a chance to do that,’ Schieffer said. … ‘And after I was here a while, I wanted to be the moderator of 'Face the Nation.' And I got do to that, and did it for 24 years.’” [The Washington Post]
Here are excerpts from Schieffer’s last broadcast:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZoiEhuFOLrE
Schieffer announced his retirement in April at TCU:
