Five stories that have North Texas talking: An endangered black rhino will soon be put up for auction, the Texas abortion ruling generates big headlines, what Dallas was like leading up to the John F. Kennedy assassination, and more:
The Dallas Safari Club’s January auction will include a controversial item: the chance to shoot an endangered black rhinoceros in Namibia. The group says it will auction off a permit and all proceeds will support conservation of the rhino. Scientists estimate that there are about 5,055 black rhinoceroses left in the world, a decline of about 96 percent over the past century or so, National Geographic reports. "There is a biological reason for this hunt, and it's based on a fundamental premise of modern wildlife management: Populations matter; individuals don't,” said Ben Carter, executive director of the Dallas Safari Club. “By removing counterproductive individuals from a herd, rhino populations can actually grow." Wayne Pacelle, the president of the Humane Society of the United States, doesn’t get it. "I think if they were multimillionaires and they were serious about helping rhinos, they could give money to help rhinos and not shoot one along the way," Pacelle said. "The first rule of protecting a rare species is to limit the human [related] killing." The auction is scheduled for Jan. 9-12 in Dallas.[ABC News]
- Abortion ruling generates big headlines: Texas was in the spotlight on Monday as a federal judge ruled that new abortion restrictions passed by the Texas Legislature are unconstitutional and should not take effect as planned on Tuesday. Texas officials immediately appealed the ruling, and the case could eventually head to the U.S. Supreme Court. District Judge Lee Yeakel blocked one part of the restriction, while allowing another provision to stand. Yeakel ruled that a state provision that requires doctors performing abortions to have admitting privileges at a hospital within 30 miles of the abortion facility "places a substantial obstacle in the path of a woman seeking an abortion of a nonviable fetus." Read KERA’s extensive coverage of the ruling. NPR also explored the ruling Monday afternoon on “All Things Considered.”
- “On the bus of art history”: Jim Hodges, whose exhibit “Give More Than You Take” is on display at the Dallas Museum of Art, was featured in The New York Times a few days ago. The exhibit is the first comprehensive survey of Hodges’ 25-year career to be organized in the United States. “On the bus of art history,” Hodges told the Times, “I wanted to sit between Richard Tuttle and Yoko Ono.” He added that “part of the process of identity, and becoming who we are, is in choosing those lineages.” The show, which features more than 80 works, examines how the New York City-based artist transforms materials into art. Among the works is a sculpture of Hodges’ clothing knit together by silver chains. The exhibit is at the DMA through January before heading to Minneapolis, Boston and Los Angeles. Guest blogger Gail Sachson recently offered her take on the exhibit for KERA’s Art&Seek.
- A look at Dallas circa 1963: D Magazine’s November issue explores the way Dallas was in 1963, before the Kennedy assassination, focusing on politics, business, sports, dining and arts. “Dallas—or rather a version of Dallas that you might recognize today—didn't exist until 1963,” the magazine says. “Before then, the city had been carefully crafting a reputation based on its entrepreneurial acumen and can-do spirit, beginning with the Texas Centennial Exposition at Fair Park in 1936. Over the next two decades, Dallas' population would grow by more than 130 percent, a postwar boom sparked by hopes and possibilities. The old-guard business community quietly ruled over all, and business was good–new sources of money sprang up everywhere, from theme parks to football teams and room-size computers. Then President John F. Kennedy came to town on November 22, 1963, and Dallas would never be the same.”
- Some national love for a local band: NPR is taking a look at Midlake, a Denton band. “Midlake does grand the way did,” NPR Music says in First Listen. “The Denton band's members have big ideas and a sound that feels like a massive orchestra, with arrangements that build and unfold. All of this is done with more rock and less folk, yet still a timeless style. It reaches back while feeling present.” Listen to “Antiphon,” “Provider” and other tunes from the group’s new album, Antiphon.
