Five stories that have North Texas talking: A Fort Worth fan attends her 28th Golden Globes Sunday; Texas GOP leaders meet with Taiwan’s president; librarians and cyclists team up to improve literacy in Dallas; and more.
Ruth Turpin of Fort Worth and the Golden Globes are nearly the same age. The 76-year-old travel agency owner has been attending the television and film awards show every year for nearly 30 years, according to the Los Angeles Times, and Sunday night’s 74th annual show was no exception. Calling herself the “oldest living Golden Globes superfan,” Turpin remembers her first red carpet experience in 1989. She was staying at the Beverly Hilton hotel on business and was curious about the preparations going on.
According to the LA Times: “Long before the strict security protocols had the entire Beverly Hilton compound locked down for the entire week of the Globes, regular hotel guests could mosey around the awards shindig and gawk at Tinseltown’s finest. 'I saw Kevin Costner and I saw John Travolta and I saw all these people that, your whole lives, you’re thinking, ‘Oh!’ And it was just like a free show.'" Since then, the awards show has grown in popularity and in cost. In three decades, the price for fans has jumped from about $100 per person to as much as $4,800 for special packages. But for Turpin, a hardcore Globes fan, it’s tradition. [The Los Angeles Times]
- Gov. Greg Abbott and Sen. Ted Cruz met with Taiwan’s president in Houston Sunday against China’s wishes. President Tsai Ing-wen’s Texas stop en route to Central America came a month after President-elect Donald Trump “took a phone call from the Taiwanese leader, upsetting decades of U.S. diplomatic protocol — and putting Beijing on high alert as she traveled to North America this weekend,” the Texas Tribune reports. Cruz said in a statement that China "needs to understand" that the U.S can meet with whom it sees fit. Abbott's office said the two discussed energy, trade and other economic ties between Taiwan and Texas. [The Texas Tribune]
- Books plus bikes equal literacy expansion. Dallas Public Library, Deep Ellum’s Local Hub Bicycle Co. and Bike Friendly Oak Cliff are working to bring "bookbikes" to Dallas. The idea: A customized trailer of books is transported via bike to areas of town where access to library services is limited. Mark Draz, a librarian and avid cyclist, proposed the idea after reading about successes in Boston, Los Angeles and Boulder, Colo., The Dallas Morning News reports. The team set up an Indiegogo campaign in October, but still needs donations to finalize plans, finance labor and secure parts to build the trailers. The goal is to get on the road by spring. [The Dallas Morning News]
- For Dallas’ Sikwitit, producing music is about more than just beats. Local rapper Bobby Sessions works with Sikwitit to convey his message. “People are drawn toward sound. That’s why I work with Sikwitit,” Sessions says. “He understands the responsibility of making sure people hear whatever my message is.” Sikwitit, also known as Joel Garcia, has had an enviable start to his career. He’s performed with rap superstar Lil Wayne, and his music was featured on the Showtime series “Power.” He’s also earning local recognition for his documentary "Sound Collectiv #DallasUp" and for winning the Dallas Observer's award for "Best Producer." Learn more about Garcia in the Artist Spotlight. [Art&Seek]
- Is it too late to mention another record broken in 2016?Southwest Transplant Alliance, a nonprofit profit organ recovery organization based in Dallas, made the most organs available for transplant in its history last year. With 380 organ donors, 1,210 lives were saved. That tops the previous record of 1,123 organs from 354 donors in 2015. The 2016 total is the largest number of organs transplanted in the state of Texas in a given year, according to a press release. The organization works with 11 transplant centers and more than 200 acute care hospitals to facilitate the recovery and placement of life-saving organs for transplant. [KERA News]
