Five stories that have North Texas talking: Dallas overtakes San Francisco in Forbes best cities for jobs ranking; John Cornyn doesn’t want to lead the FBI; SOLUNA fest kicks off this week; and more.
Dallas has been named the best place for jobs in the latest edition of Forbes' annual list. In the ranking, Dallas is defined as the metro area including Plano and Irving. It's ranked first among America’s 70 largest metro areas. The last time Texas topped the list was the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos area in 2012. The Bay Area took every year in between with the exception of Silicon Valley in 2014.
According to Forbes: “Unlike the tech-driven Bay Area, Dallas’ economy has multiple points of strength, including aerospace and defense, insurance, financial services, life sciences, data processing and transportation. Employment in the metro area has expanded 20.3 percent over the past five years and 4.2 percent last year, with robust job creation in professional and business services, as well as in a host of lower-paid sectors like retail, wholesale trade and hospitality.”
The ranking is based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics unadjusted employment data reported from November 2005 to January 2017. Here’s the full methodology. Austin and San Antonio made the top 15 this year, at No. 7 and No. 12, respectively. The Fort Worth-Arlington area ranked at No. 28. [Forbes]
- Despite speculation, John Cornyn doesn’t want to replace James Comey as head of the FBI. He withdrew his consideration for director on Tuesday, saying he’ll continue “to fight for a conservative agenda” as a U.S. Senator, according to The Texas Tribune. "Now more than ever the country needs a well-credentialed, independent FBI director," Cornyn said. "I’ve informed the administration that I’m committed to helping them find such an individual." Comey was fired on May 9. [The Texas Tribune]
- Gov. Greg Abbott says Hispanic Texans shouldn’t worry about the state’s sanctuary cities ban. The law, signed by Abbott on May 7, allows Texas police officers to ask about a person's immigration status during routine stops. Abbott says Hispanic people shouldn’t fear being stopped unless they’ve committed a crime, The Associated Press reports. The law takes effect in September. A list of local governments planning to fight Texas over the controversial law is growing. [The Associated Press]
- Crews off the Texas coast installed artificial reefs as part of a Texas Parks and Wildlife program to improve marine habitat in the Gulf. The last of 700 concrete pyramids was put in place Saturday off Port O'Connor, near two abandoned oil platforms, The Associated Press reports. The pyramids were placed about 70 feet deep and have holes allowing fish to swim through. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation helped secure funding for the project. [The Associated Press]
- If you like art and music, you have no excuse to be bored in Dallas for the next three weeks. That’s guaranteed by the Dallas Symphony’s third annual SOLUNA festival. Performances and mixed-media installations will coincide with this year’s theme: dreams and illusions. The festival also includes concerts by the Dallas Symphony Orchestra led by director Jaap van Zweden. Don’t know where to start? Art&Seek created this helpful guide. [Art&Seek]
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.