-- Federal offices and courts will be closed Monday for Columbus Day, one of 10 federal holidays.

-- There will be no home mail delivered Monday, except Express Mail.

-- Most post offices will be closed.

-- Most banks will be closed Monday, although some will be open. Check your local branch for details.

-- The New York Stock Exchange, Nasdaq and other financial markets are open Monday.

-- All city, county and state offices will be open as usual, along with public schools, community colleges and universities.

-- Garbage pickup and bus service will be unaffected by the federal holiday.

By TREBOR BANSTETTER

Fares at Dallas/Fort Worth Airport and Dallas Love Field jumped during the first quarter of 2008, according to a new report, but Love Field remained one of the nation’s cheapest airports.

One-way domestic fares averaged $383 at D/FW during the quarter, up 7 percent from the same period in 2007, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics.

By GORDON DICKSON

DALLAS — Another Fort Worth-versus-Dallas battle is brewing.

A dispute between the Fort Worth Transportation Authority and Dallas Area Rapid Transit threatens to delay construction of a commuter rail line from southwest Fort Worth to Grapevine and Dallas/Fort Worth Airport.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Thursday is the day about 2 million Americans get a raise.

That's when the federal minimum wage goes up 70 cents an hour.

WASHNINGTON (1010 WINS) -- Inspectors are collecting soil, water and produce samples, reviewing export logs and combing packing plants in three major tomato-growing states in Mexico.

But the U.S.

By SCOTT STREATER

Ozone pollution is projected to reach unhealthy levels across the Dallas-Fort Worth region for the first time this year today and throughout the weekend.

The highest ozone for today is forecast to occur on the northeast side of the Metroplex, primarily in Collin County. But by Sunday, state regulators say, it could reach unhealthy levels at areas like Eagle Mountain Lake in northwest Tarrant County, and in Denton.

The prime reason: A continental air mass will move air pollution from the West Coast and Midwest into the Dallas-Fort Worth area by late Friday, where it will mix with pollution generated by cars, trucks, construction equipment and industry in the region, said Bryan Lambeth, senior meteorologist at the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.


Spotted here

By MATTHEW HAAG / The Dallas Morning News

Feeling the pinch from rising gas costs? Imagine paying to fill up a fleet of school buses each month.

Some districts are asking drivers such as Anthony Gray to curb gas-guzzling habits like idling.

A study shows that the area is a great place for foreign investors, lured by the weak dollar, to set up shop

By MARIA M. PEROTINStar-Telegram Staff Writer

With the dollar's value waning, it's now cheaper for companies to do business in the United States than in many European countries.

The Dallas-Fort Worth unemployment rate slipped to 4.3 percent in February, while the statewide rate reached a 30-year low of 4.1 percent.

The Dallas-Fort Worth jobless rate was down from 4.6 percent in January and 4.5 percent in February last year.

The Dallas-Fort Worth area added the most residents out of all metropolitan areas in the country last year, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

By KEVIN KRAUSE / The Dallas Morning News

Dallas County has taken an aggressive stand against fraudulent vehicle inspections by spearheading efforts to smoke out offenders and by forming a Clean Air Emissions Advisory Board to involve other agencies in the effort.

But the county now finds itself the focus of an investigation of bogus inspection stickers after state officials found paperwork discrepancies involving four to seven county vehicles.

By STEVE BROWN / The Dallas Morning News


Another month brings another increase in local foreclosures.

The number of Dallas-Fort Worth area homes faced with foreclosure rose 19 percent for April compared to a year earlier.

March 13, 2008

DALLAS -- Driving to her job at a landscaping company on Interstate 30, Sondra Plunk saw a young boy fall from an overpass and land in the lane next to her.

''I saw his face,'' she said. ''I saw the fear in his face.''

The boy and his brother were tossed from the overpass east of downtown Dallas on Wednesday, allegedly by their mother, who then made the two-story jump herself.

Somehow, all of them survived dropping into the fast lane of morning rush hour traffic.

Spotted here

Southwest Brings 171 Soldiers Home for the Holidays

Last update: 11:00 a.m. EST Dec.

By TERRENCE STUTZ / The Dallas Morning News

AUSTIN – Farmers Insurance on Wednesday proposed an average 5 percent reduction in home insurance rates in Dallas and Tarrant counties, but it also served notice that it wants to raise rates 20 to 30 percent along the Texas coast.

In a filing with the Texas Department of Insurance, Farmers indicated its new rates would result in an overall statewide increase of 2.2 percent, with hefty premium hikes in coastal counties and southeast Texas and modest reductions in North Texas and many other parts of the state.

Michelle Levy, a spokeswoman for Farmers, said nearly 50 percent of the company's 686,000 policyholders in Texas would see lower premiums under the plan.

Original article here

By STEVE BROWN / The Dallas Morning News

Along with colored lights and Christmas trees, a sure sign of the holidays are the "New Price" signs decorating thousands of neighborhood lawns.

After putting houses on the market in the summer and getting no takers, many sellers are trimming costs in hopes of landing a winter sale.

This year, there's a new dynamic to this seasonal occurrence – a nationwide housing slump that's keeping homes on the market longer.

Real estate agents say that sellers who haven't gotten a nibble after months on the market need to rethink.

Spotted here

Jail Works To Meet State's Minimum Staffing Requirements

DALLAS -- Dallas County has given itself one month to reduce the inmate population of its crowded and understaffed jail as it works to meet the state's minimum staffing requirements.

Officials with the nation's seventh-largest jail system want to trim 1,000 inmates from the population of more than 7,000. The reduction would make the jail compliant with the state's minimum staffing requirement of one guard per 48 inmates, county officials said.

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Cards, Cash Stolen From Mother

DALLAS -- Grand Prairie police issued a crime alert on Thursday after a series of burglaries of items from cars.

Police said the burglaries are occurring at fitness centers, shopping malls, day-care centers and schools.

By KIMBERLY DURNAN / The Dallas Morning News

Whatever charm winter weather may have held with North Texans, much of it has melted away with the last standing neighborhood snowman.
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For weather forecasters, street crews and other workers who have tried to keep roads safe, homes heated and people informed, the crummy weather has meant long hours and extra shifts.

Chain's Marketing Director: 60 Percent Of Pizza Patron's Customers Hispanic

FORT WORTH, Texas -- A North Texas pizza chain is getting attention for how people pay for their pies.

Whether it's pepperoni or sausage and jalapeno, employees at Pizza Patron always heard one question from customers.

"They say, ‘Do you accept pesos?’ In the past, we say, ‘No,’ but the idea started right there when we said, ‘Why don't we take pesos?’" Pizza Patron Marketing Director Ernesto Hernandez said.

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