Five stories that have North Texas talking: Where you can put that Pinkberry Rewards card at AT&T Stadium, a tough prognosis for Texas' doctor shortage, an app for designated drivers that works with Facebook events and more.
Comers to the Dallas Cowboys' preseason game against the Cincinnati Bengals on Saturday should pack light, if you haven't heard. One last blast of media attention paid to new NFL rules banning most bags and purses after the Boston Marathon bombing compelled officials to amp up security has given officials hope about a smooth transition. -
Dallas Newsoffers a list of items that won't make it into AT&T Stadium. And so do the oppressed Lauren LaBorde and Colleen Allterton, two New Orleans comics, in a PSA spoof aired by the Today show:
http://youtu.be/C8HCZd2HFfw
Treating Future Doctor Shortage With Funds May Not Heal Texas' Problem: For all the money Texas is pouring into med schools ahead of a physician shortage, the prognosis is not good for keeping graduating students with hopes to practice medicine in the state. Texas will spend $32.8 million to finance nearly 6,500 medical residency positions in 2014-15. But when 2014 hits, there will still be more medical students out of the university gate in Texas than open first-year residency spots, a 2012 report by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board warns. Other states have reason to worry, too. [Texas Tribune.]
Sober On Assignment, Searchable By Smartphone: A practical note for first-week college partiers: The University of North Texas in Denton is one of three schools that will test run an app TxDOT built to link students up with designated drivers. It's called P.A.S.S.-Person Appointed to Stay Sober. Students can find DDs when they RSVP to an event on Facebook, see how many motor skills-compromised co-eds the appointee can fit in their car, and even plan to chip in on gas money. [TxDOT]
Another MLB Player Admits To Doping: After a long road of claiming innocence and then accepting a 65-game suspension, he Milwaukee Brewers' Ryan Braun admitted using performance-enhancing drugs while recovering from an injury in 2001. He was the first of 14 players including Texas All-Star Nelson Cruz to be disciplined for using this year. Travis Tygart, a lawyer and SMU alum who leads the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, led the charge in testing and reprimanding Lance Armstrong for the career-destroying mistakes the cyclist made. Tygart told Think host Krys Boyd this week about threats Armstrong fans made against his own life. That wasn't the lowest point in the investigation for Tygart, though -- it was when Armstrong refused to join the agency in promoting solutions for athletes. Listen to the whole conversation here.
West Goes Back To School: Three of West's four school campuses were ravaged by April's fertilizer plant explosion. Middle and high schoolers will return to the town after attending classes in a neighboring district to finish last year. They'll be in portables or stowed away at an elementary campus for now, but they'll be home, and for a district with the new mantra "Rise Up West ISD," that's a good start. Dallas News' Eva-Marie Ayala talked to Superintendent Marty Crawford and students about the "village of portables" and the town's repairing spirit. Listen for BJ Austin's piece this afternoon for All Things Considered on KERA 90.1. You can always stream us live.
