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Dallas Is 'Looking Good' As Amazon's Second Home, Topping The Wall Street Journal's List

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Amazon's three giant glass biosphere domes under construction at its headquarters in downtown Seattle in February 2017.

Five stories that have North Texas talking: Why Dallas could land Amazon; sexual harassment is pervasive in the legislature; Dallas County assistant DA fired over an Uber rant; and more.

Dallas really wants Amazon’s second headquarters, but not everyone’s sure it’d be the right fit.

Soon after Amazon announced it was looking for a new place, The New York Times suggested Denver. Before proposals were due, Moody’s Analytics vouched for Austin. And while Dallas has been mentioned in most of these preliminary rankings, it’s hasn’t been seen at the top much.

Dallas checks a lot of boxes on Amazon’s wish list: a big city, where it’s inexpensive to build and operate, with a talented workforce. But transportation could hurt its chances. Read more on that from KERA’s Christopher Connelly.

North Texas submitted its proposal along with more than 230 others from across North America in October. Details are scarce, so here’s the promotional video.

https://youtu.be/BQ2qtQ4OS2k","_id":"00000174-20e8-d47e-a1f7-72edcd090002","_type":"035d81d3-5be2-3ed2-bc8a-6da208e0d9e2"}">https://youtu.be/BQ2qtQ4OS2k">https://youtu.be/BQ2qtQ4OS2k","_id":"00000174-20e8-d47e-a1f7-72edcd090002","_type":"035d81d3-5be2-3ed2-bc8a-6da208e0d9e2"}">https://youtu.be/BQ2qtQ4OS2k

The Wall Street Journal on Tuesday published its own predictions, using Amazon's criteria, interviews with site-selection experts and people “familiar with Amazon's thinking.” The Journal ranked cities on six characteristics: tech labor force, fiscal health, cost of living, college population, culture fit and state tax rank.

That last one really helps Dallas, which is ranked as the best overall city for the big get, followed by Boston and Washington D.C. Austin, however, is considered a “long shot” for the opportunity, even though Amazon bought Whole Foods in August. 

Some links have a pay wall or require a subscription.

  • Capitol misconduct: More than two dozen current and former lawmakers and legislative aides have experienced sexual harassment at the state Capitol. But no formal complaint has been filed since 2011. While policies have been in place for two decades, they’re outdated. Both reference an agency that no longer exists. [The Texas Tribune]

  • CHIP notice: Congress failed to save the Children’s Health Insurance Program that supports 400,000 Texas children. In a matter of weeks, families could start getting letters telling them that their health insurance is ending. [KUT]

  • Zero stars: Jody Warner, a 32-year-old Dallas County assistant district attorney was fired Monday after an Uber driver alleged that she hit him, insulted him and accused him of kidnapping while he gave her a ride Friday night. [The Dallas Morning News]

  • New collab: First James Avery, now YETI. 

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.