Five stories that have North Texas talking: Austin mayor responds to “Wonder Woman” backlash; Al Franken’s new book prompts feud with Ted Cruz; check in with the Class of ‘17; and more.
“Does Austin stand for gender equality or for kissing up to women?” That was a question posed in an email to Austin Mayor Steve Adler last week. The sender, Richard A. Ameduri (according to the email signature), is one of several men upset by the Alamo Drafthouse’s two special female-only screenings of “Wonder Woman” on June 6. Some argued the special event was sexist and discriminatory.
Last week, the theater announced the event, saying: “Apologies, gentlemen, but we're embracing our girl power and saying 'No Guys Allowed' for one special night at the Alamo Ritz. And when we say 'People Who Identify As Women Only,' we mean it.” Backlash surfaced across social media, per usual, but Thursday, Mayor Adler decided to respond to Ameduri’s individual email and publish it on his website. Adler begins:
I am writing to alert you that your email account has been hacked by an unfortunate and unusually hostile individual. Please remedy your account’s security right away, lest this person’s uninformed and sexist rantings give you a bad name. After all, we men have to look out for each other!
Read the full exchange. [KERA News]
- U.S. Sen. Al Franken dedicated an entire chapter (called “Sophistry”) of his new book to ragging on Ted Cruz. The Minnesota Democrat has spent this week in various promotional TV interviews further digging into Cruz — “the guy who microwaves fish,” he told Anderson Cooper. As The Washington Post reports, “Cruz has taken the bait.” After President Donald Trump tweeted the typo heard around the world on Wednesday, Cruz used the nonsensical word to describe Franken’s book. “Covfefe? Hard to say, but I hear Al Franken's new book is full of it ;)” [The Washington Post]
- Five years ago, we met a group of North Texas eighth graders from different schools with different lives. As senior year winds down, we’re checking in with members of the Class of 2017 before they graduate. Explore the series, and you’ll meet students like Alex Gutierrez. Her struggle with math kept her from attending her dream school. But she’s graduating from a Garland charter where students learn English, Spanish and Chinese. She plans to stay home for a few years in community college, but she has big agency plans for the future. [KERA News]
- After 46 years of teaching special education, 75-year-old Carolyn Dreyer of Dallas is retiring. Dreyer’s career includes the last five years teaching Activities of Daily Living to nonverbal students, ages 11 to 14, at Ann Richards Middle School. According to The Dallas Morning News, Dreyer was inspired to pursue special education Rosemary Kennedy, the eldest sibling of the late president. Kennedy underwernt an unsuccessful, life-changing lobotomy in 1941. Dreyer was heartbroken by the story but encouraged to teach people who needed extra help. [The Dallas Morning News]
- A handful of state lawmakers will discuss consequential matters for Dallas in a conversation with The Texas Tribune. State Reps. Eric Johnson, Linda Koop, Victoria Neave and Jason Villalba will reflect on the 85th legislative session with Tribune co-founder and CEO Evan Smith. The conversation will span a variety of topics relevant to Dallas, including public education, immigration, health care, spending, taxes and more. The discussion will be streamed live starting at 8 a.m., and if you miss it, the video will be archived. [The Texas Tribune]
The High Five is KERA’s daily roundup of stories from Dallas-Fort Worth and across the state. Explore our archives here. And sign up for our weekly email for the North Texas news you need to know.
