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In Dallas, A Bigger Chunk Of Income Is Going Towards Monthly Rent

Andrey Popov
/
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Five stories that have North Texas talking: rent eats up more income in Dallas, President Obama taps Sarah Saldaña to head U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, more Texans are choosing urgent care centers over hospitals, and more.

Dallas renters are spending more of their income towards their monthly rents, the Dallas Business Journal reports. According to research by online real estate database Zillow, Dallas renters have historically paid about 20 percent of their income towards renting a home, but that has increased to about 27 percent in recent years. Zillow economist Skylar Olsen told the Dallas Business Journal that these higher rents makes it harder to save up for a down payment and poses another roadblock for millenials who want to buy a home. "There has been a large influx of renters and building hasn't caught up yet, but we're starting to see signs there are more multi-family and single-family homes coming on board," Olsen said. To afford a two-bedroom apartment in North Texas, you’d have to earn $17 to $18 an hour, or work 93 hours a week for a minimum-wage worker.

  • President Obama has picked Dallas-based prosecutor and U.S. Attorney Sarah Saldaña to lead Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Saldaña is the state’s first Latina U.S. attorney and if the Senate approves her nomination, would also be the first Latina to run ICE. The director position has been vacant for more than a year. [The Dallas Morning News]

  • Hospitals are losing patients to urgent care facilities, the Texas Tribune reports. Texans are choosing to skip the long wait times at hospital emergency rooms for cheaper and quicker urgent care facilities. There’s an increase in the number of urgent care centers and hospitals say they have to compete with the clinics for the same pool of insured Texans.

  • Dallas DanceFest is back after a 10-year hiatus and it kicks off tonight. The festival first began in 1985, but closed its curtains in 2004. For this comeback, nineteen groups will perform for the three-day extravaganza at Dallas City Performance Hall.

  • Farmer’s market aficionados can look forward to more produce at Dallas Farmer’s Market. KERA’s Doualy Xaykaothao reports the Market’s major renovation, The Shed, will be up and running for Labor Day weekend. The new addition will house long-time sellers, new vendors and a music stage. 
Former KERA staffer Krystina Martinez was an assistant producer. She produced local content for Morning Edition and KERANews.org. She also produced The Friday Conversation, a weekly series of conversations with North Texas newsmakers. Krystina was also the backup newscaster for the Texas Standard.