Five stories that have North Texas talking: Katherine, a big shark, wants to visit Texas; the Lake Whitney cliff might be blown up; Gov. Rick Perry on Jews, gays and loving California; and more.
Experts tracking a great white shark through the Gulf of Mexico have received electronic signals indicating the route could lead to Texas. Data from the group Ocearch shows another "ping" was recorded Tuesday morning from the shark dubbed Katherine. The 14-foot shark was tagged last August off Cape Cod, Massachusetts. The tag sends a signal when the 2,300-pound shark comes to the surface. The Houston Chronicle reports a satellite on Sunday put Katherine about 140 miles west of Sarasota, Florida. Researchers say in another week the westbound animal could be past the Mississippi River and eventually reach Texas. (Maybe she really wants some Tex-Mex?) The Dallas Observer reports on the shark, with this headline: “Great White Shark is Coming Straight for Texas, Will Probably Devour Us All.” [The Associated Press]
- The house that was teetering on a cliff at Lake Whitney was set on fire last week – but now the cliff might be blown up. There’s a crack in the cliff as wide as 11-feet-long in some spots, and it’s unstable, and that concerns officials in Hill County. WFAA-TV reports that estimates for blowing up the cliff are around $150,000. Officials don’t want thrill-seekers heading to the lake and getting up close to a cliff that could fall on them. Explosive experts from Oklahoma were brought in Wednesday to look at the cliff. There will be meetings with nearby homeowners, the Army Corps of Engineers, and others, the station reports.
- Gov. Rick Perry is back in the headlines again – this time for what he said about being Jewish, among other things. “I’m more Jewish than you think I am,” he said while eating at a Jewish deli in California, according to a profile in the New York Times Magazine. “I read the part of the Bible that said the Jews are God’s chosen people.” He told the Times that he’s been traveling to Israel since 1992. The Times followed him to California, where he spoke to a group of Jewish Republicans in Los Angeles. His comments on being Jewish follow recent comments that link homosexuality with alcoholism and how he loves California.
- The New Cities Summit wraps up today in Dallas. Urban experts from around the world have been plotting ways to make their cities more liveable. KERA’s Jerome Weeks reports it’s no accident they’ve gathered in the Arts District. Maxwell Anderson, director of the Dallas Museum of Art, told Jerome: “A big part of the excitement is to have all of these influentials fan out to their respective cities with a different story about Dallas” — and that story can be about DART or the business climate or even the city’s major investment in culture. “Selfishly, I’m interested because I want to drive cultural tourism to the Dallas-Fort Worth area. I would like these new non-stop flights to be filled with people who are not just changing planes but who are saying, ‘Before we head to Mexico City, LA, whatever it might be, let’s experience what is on offer here.’”
- The Oak Cliff Film Festival opens tonight at the Texas Theatre. It’s the third year for the festival, and this week KERA’s Stephen Becker and The Dallas Morning News’ Chris Vognar talked with two of its programmers -- Adam Donaghey and Barak Epstein -- about a few of the repertory films they've included in this year's event. Stephen reports: “You can go ahead and start planning your weekend with a look at this year's schedule. Wondering about the secret film playing opening night? I would bet the house it's this.”
